Klay Thompson has made a name for himself throughout his career for big Game 6 performances in the playoffs.
Unfortunately, in what proved to be his Golden State Warriors’ final game of this season, Thompson came up short against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night.
After the outing, Thompson sat down with the media to answer some questions.
Before he did, though – he took a quick look at the stat sheet.
Klay Thompson sees the box score for the first time postgame: “Shoot.” pic.twitter.com/6EqnsGmm2U
— hoops bot (@hoops_bot) May 13, 2023
“Shoot,” Thompson said.
It’s not hard to see why the Warriors legend had that reaction. He went 3-of-19 from the field and 2-of-12 from beyond the arc in Game 6, culminating in eight total points scored.
Thompson also proved to be a huge liability on defense, an area where he once thrived. With him on the floor L.A. outscored Golden State by 33 points. It was brutal.
Heading into this outing, Thompson was averaging a mere 17 points on 33 percent shooting from three over the past three games.
The Warriors needed both Splash Brothers to show up against the Lakers, and one ultimately did not.
Understandably, there are now a lot of questions about where Thompson goes from here. He is entering the final season of a five-year, $190 million contract that will see him receive $43 million.
Thompson undoubtedly still views himself as a max contract-type of player, but the reality is that he isn’t one anymore. How he and the Warriors will be able to reconcile that difference in perception will dictate what his future in The Bay looks like.
The Warriors were a mess this year. There was a lot of locker room drama and disarray, and Thompson’s veteran presence did little to alleviate that. In fact, in some ways he made it worse.
It will be fascinating to see how Golden State opts to proceed.
While Thompson is no longer the player he once was, he is still a beloved personality. There’s a reason the internet nearly melted down when his girlfriend’s bedroom video went viral. Thompson still commands that sort of attention and respect. He is still a frontpage news-type of character.
Vanessa’s photos immediately went viral after the Lakers won. https://t.co/JW3zgHypm1
— Game 7 (@game7__) May 13, 2023
Whether that justifies a max-level deal or not remains to be seen, though.
Will Thompson and the Warriors find a way to work together long-term after his disastrous Lakers series? One way or the other, an answer will emerge soon enough.
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