Klay Thompson spoke of the possibility of making the All-Defensive Team at the end of the regular season, an accolade that has always escaped him due. The Golden State Warriors star explained his position:

“Yeah, it's always been a goal of mine,” said Thompson. “I pride myself in playing both sides of the ball and it would be awesome to make the All-Defensive Team when all it's said and done.”

He then addressed the lack of sexy numbers that would otherwise favor his selection into the NBA All-Defense club.

“I'm not a steals guy, but we got to have some great defenders on this team, because we've been in first place in four out of five freaking years,” said Thompson. “At the end of the day, you got to have some great defenders, it's not all offense with this team, you've got some great guys that play that side of the ball.”

Thompson, however, wouldn't make much of the media supporting his case to make it as an All-NBA defender, claiming it could vary according to the results at hand.

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“I just try to play my game,” he said. “It is nice to be talked about in a good light, but at the end of the day, the love from the media and the fans can be so fickle, because it's game to game. We're in a time in where it's kind of what have you done for me lately? You can't get caught up in the love right now because that ain't going as far from that.”

The Warriors sharpshooter is not only putting up a career high in scoring (22.5 points per game), but also career bests in rebounds per game (4.0) and steals per game (1.2), though his numbers are hardly sexy enough to garner the notion of a defensive hawk.

Yet the eye test doesn't lie — Thompson is often the one picking up the opposing team's best perimeter player and most of the time making things complicated for them to score. The eighth-year marksman is not a risk-taker. He doesn't lunge for steals or try to block shots as much as contest them. Perhaps, he's the victim of his own reluctance to look good in the stat sheet for the better of his team.