FIBA World Cup: What We Learned About Each Player On Team USA’s Roster

Klay Thompson

No Kevin Love trade arguments from me at this point in time, for either side. But it’s worth noting that the guy that the Golden State Warriors didn’t want to include in a trade for Kevin Love was Team USA’s second-leading scorer and easily its most impressive two-way player. Thompson averaged 12.7 points per game, shot 52.3 percent from the floor and made 41.5 percent of his threes.

Thompson was mostly underutilized against teams with guards that actually needed defending, but he was also able to pad his stats off the bench when the games were all but decided by the third quarter. Thompson was instant offense off the bench when Team USA actually needed him, like against Lithuania in the semifinal.

The Americans were never really going to need Thompson’s defense, but he helped establish the tone when he checked into the game. Easily a superior defender to Coach K’s starting backcourt of Kyrie, Curry and Harden, Thompson even added in a couple of soul-shattering blocks on the rare occasions when he did get beat off the dribble. Thompson had a more impressive FIBA showing than his superstar backcourt mate and that can only mean good things for the Dubs next season.