B.J. Armstrong gave some high praise to a linchpin of the Golden State Warriors, claiming one among them would be well-suited to play in Michael Jordan's era of basketball.
Without stuttering, the former Chicago Bulls teammate of His Airness gave Klay Thompson the nod during a Monday guest appearance on ESPN's “First Take.”
Via Drew Shiller of NBC Sports Bay Area:
“I think about that all the time. One of the players I think would excel most in that era would be Klay Thompson,” said Armstrong. “He's a big guard, he has some physicality of the game and he (plays) the game in the way that they all played.
“You ran plays where the two-guard had to provide spacing and you had to be able to take your matchup. I think he (is) big enough to take that matchup every single night. I just think he would be a player that would fit into that era beautifully because of how he plays the game now. I think it translates.”
Back in the day, shooting guards were designed to … well … shoot, and a player couldn't occupy that position unless they were able to spread the floor. Thompson is the perennial shooting guard, with a sprinkler system that can make it rain from contested mid-range shots over the top of his defenders to long-range antics that have beaten many an NBA record.
Before his torn ACL injury, the Warriors sharpshooter was considered among the few iron men of the league, suiting up even when an injury was expected to put him out for days or even weeks. In Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals, Thompson notably came back from the tunnel after learning he wouldn't be able to reenter if he didn't shoot his free throws.
Thompson finished a clean 10-of-10 at the foul line and learned he had torn his ACL minutes later, even as he intended to return to the game at some point.
Armstrong, who is also an agent for Wasserman Media Group — the same agency that represents Thompson — noted he envisioned Thompson more than holding his own against the best shooting guards of the Jordan era:
“Prototypical two-guard that would fit very nicely into that era and the way they played the game back then,” he added. “He has the right mentality. He has the right demeanor.
“I can see him playing against Joe Dumars, I can see him playing against Clyde Drexler. I can see him playing against Michael Jordan. And he would pose some problems.”
Thompson isn't only the prototypical shooting guard, but a marksman at that. The Warriors guard's off-the-ball genius and lightning-quick release make him an absolute weapon at that position, something Dumars, Drexler, and Jordan would have had to make a point of stopping.
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