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For the last decade, the Golden State Warriors have undoubtedly been the defining team in the National Basketball Association. Consider, no franchise has won more regular season games (519), or postseason games (99), or made more NBA Finals appearances (6), or won more NBA championships (4) than the Golden State Warriors. In that ten year span, Stephen Curry has climbed into the pantheon, Kevin Durant came and went, Draymond Green has accrued at least $2 million in fines while establishing himself as one of the best defenders in NBA history, Steve Kerr went from having no coaching experience to being named one of the ten greatest coaches in NBA history, and Klay Thompson… well, now that he's on his way to Dallas, what exactly is Klay Thompson's legacy?
In many ways, even more so than Stephen Curry or Draymond Green, Klay Thompson has come to embody the region he's called home for the last 13 years. Blending a quiet and fiery competitiveness with a dose of California Cool and a picture-perfect jumper, Klay has embedded himself in the fabric of the Bay Area just as much as Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Napa Valley. “I would say he always comes across as the most approachable and, like, the most human of them,” says Sam Esfandiari of WarriorsWorld (h/t Logan Murdock of The Ringer). But to be fair, you don't go down as a franchise icon, or get a statue built just for being ‘the most human' guy on the roster.
And if you believe Steve Kerr is a man of his word, then Klay Thompson will have a statue built outside of the Chase Center someday.
“Klay is going to have a statue outside Chase someday … he'll be beloved by his teammates, coaches and our fans forever.”
Steve Kerr with a heart warming tribute to Klay Thompson ❤️
(via @NBCSWarriors)
pic.twitter.com/cXAHDtW1Ce— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) July 7, 2024
Peruse the NBA record books, and you'll see Klay Thompson's name quite a few times. His 108 postseason wins are the most of any Warriors player, and the 18th-most all-time. He ranks 25th in career NBA Finals scoring and 27th in scoring in the NBA postseason. His 501 three-pointers in the NBA Playoffs trail only Stephen Curry for the most in league history. His 37 points in a quarter and 14 three-pointers in a game are both NBA records. And with 80 three-pointers this season, he'll pass Reggie Miller for 5th all-time on the NBA's three-point shooting list.
But here lies the problem with evaluating Klay Thompson… as eye-popping as the numbers are, it's impossible to lean on those numbers alone to capture his impact. Klay's rise to NBA stardom, his brilliant on-court partnership with fellow Splash Brother Stephen Curry, and his place in Golden State Warriors history are best explained with stories. And that's because humans are the only animals that tell stories, and Klay Thompson, as Sam Esfandiari noted, may be among the most human NBA stars we've seen.
The defining story of Klay Thompson, the Warrior
The last iconic moment inside of Oracle Arena, the old stomping grounds of the Golden State Warriors, came as a result of Klay Thompson. After taking a hard fall on a breakaway dunk attempt late in the 3rd quarter of Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals, Klay Thompson limped out of the locker room area to the free throw line and sank two free throws just minutes after he was writhing in pain on the ground, clutching his left knee. Little did we know in that moment, Thompson had suffered a torn ACL. Those two made free throws would be his final points inside of Oracle Arena.
That's not the defining story, though.
Over two years later, after recovering from the torn ACL, tearing his achilles tendon, and returning from the achilles tear, Klay Thompson made his return to an NBA court 941 days after he hit those two free throws inside of Oracle Arena. His return would come inside of the Chase Center, the Warriors new home, and as expected, Klay was treated to a thunderous ovation by the Dubs home fans. In that game, a win against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Thompson would score 17 points, a testament to the nearly 1,000 days he spent working his ass off to get back to that point.
But that's not the defining story, either.
The defining story of Klay Thompson, the Warrior, comes just a little over a month before Klay made his return to the court. Following a Warriors win over the Portland Trail Blazers in November 2021, Thompson stayed on the bench for a half an hour after the game with a towel over his head. The emotions, the struggle, the time lost… it had all gotten to be too much for Klay Thompson.
Klay wants to be out there so bad 😔 pic.twitter.com/wo2Pq9mRA9
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) November 27, 2021
After that game, Steve Kerr was asked about his star shooting guard, and in typical Steve Kerr fashion, he found a way to sum up the situation perfectly.
“The good news is he is nearing the finish line on this. But he can't help but stop and think about how much he's lost the last couple of years, just on a personal level. He loves the game so much and not being able to play, not really being able to be a part of the team the way he wants to, it's been pretty emotional for him,” Kerr said, according to Ali Thanawalla of NBC Sports Bay Area. “He's very human, I guess that's what I'm trying to say, like, he's vulnerable, he's emotional. That's what makes him such a beautiful person, and he just cares and he loves the game. He loves the work, and he wants to be part of everything. All that's been ripped away the last two years.”
Overcoming loss. Working toward something you love. Engaging in an unwinnable battle with father time… you can't get possibly more human than that.
Klay Thompson showed everyone what that journey looks like, and yes, for that, he should have a statue built outside of the Chase Center.
