Golden State Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson found out he was being left off the All-NBA team after Anthony Slater of The Athletic brought up the question after the Warriors practice on Thursday, only minutes after the results were revealed.

Thompson was irate and in disbelief, but soon shrugged it off after realizing a lot more was at stake by winning a third-straight title in the next few weeks.

However ESPN's Stephen A. Smith wasn't quite ready to dismiss this “disgrace” just yet, arguing that Thompson was a surefire bet to belong among the game's best 15 players.

“I agree with him too, I think that the important point that needs to be made is that it's a disgrace,” said Smith on First Take. “You talk about what Klay Thompson brings to the table and it's not about what guards are better than him or not better than him. When you take the regular season into consideration, I would've put Klay Thompson… ahead of Kyrie Irving, I would've put him ahead of Russell Westbrook AND Kemba Walker.”

Smith ultimately argued that a two-way player has so much more value that players that put up gaudy numbers and either don't win or don't equate to winning at both ends of the floor.

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Chris Paul in a Spurs uniform on left. Victor Wembanyama on right.

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Chris Paul in normal clothes on left. Mavericks' Luka Doncic shooting a basketball on right.

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Stephen A. Smith in the middle, Knicks and 76ers logo on either side of him

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Walker has yet to bring the Hornets to the playoffs in three seasons, though to no fault of his own. Irving has a reputation for being a lackadaisical defender and Westbrook is simply viewed as a must-have due to his triple-double exploits.

While Smith's criteria can be argued, Thompson's absence rings hollow, considering he's had one of his best seasons, even after struggling mightily with his shot in the first half of the regular season.

Thompson still managed to average 21.5 points per game and shoot a respectable 46.7% from the floor, all while keeping his streak of eight straight seasons shooting above 40% from deep — a feat he only shares with fellow marksman Stephen Curry, who has done it for 10 straight.