Steph Curry, Draymond Green Send Klay Thompson Message Ahead of Warriors, Mavericks Clash

New Dallas Mavericks swingman Klay Thompson is heading home on Tuesday night. In the first game of 2024 Emirates NBA Cup play this season, Thompson’s 5-5 Mavericks will travel to San Francisco’s Chase Center, where the team will square off against the club with whom he had spent all 11 of his prior healthy NBA seasons.

Read more: NBA Cup 2024 — How to Watch, Odds, Predictions, More

Prior to his arrival back in Northern California, Thompson’s fellow future Hall of Fame former Warriors teammates Stephen Curry and Draymond Green spent him a special “welcome home” message, along with other ex-Thompson colleagues:

“It was an honor to play with you for 13 years,” Curry said. “I’ll always remember every memory we were able to create as teammates and the Splash Brothers… I hope you get the hero’s welcome that you deserve.”

Curry, a 10-time All-Star and two-time league MVP, and Thompson together comprised a lethal sharpshooting backcourt tandem dubbed the “Splash Brothers,” and proved themselves virtually unstoppable in the 2010s.

Head coach Steve Kerr praised the former five-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA honoree, with whom he, Curry and Green won four championships between the 2014-15 and 2021-22 seasons.

“Your statue will be outside Chase one day,” Kerr said to Thompson via the video. “Thank you for all the championships, all the incredible moments. The person you are, the teammate you are. I loved coaching you, and welcome back.”

Former 2017 Defensive Player of the Year Green, drafted just a year after Thompson in 2012, addressed his colleague with some introspective comments.

“‘Welcome back’— I never thought I’d be saying those words to Klay,” Green said. “I’m thankful, I’m honored, to have been your teammate, to call you a brother… Welcome back home, brother. Well-deserved. Take your flowers, because you earned every single last one of them and some more.”

Thompson ditched the Warriors by inking a three-year, $50 million sign-and-trade contract with the Mavericks this past summer.

Read more: Mavericks GM Reveals Thought Process Behind Landing Klay Thompson

Although he’s the Mavericks’ starting small forward, Thompson has essentially replaced former reserve swingman Tim Hardaway Jr. for Dallas this year. He is no longer his All-Defensive Team self, and thus has to be carefully used in tandem with fellow defensive sieves Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

Backup swingman Naji Marshall, basically brought on to be Derrick Jones Jr.’s replacement, is a far more complete player at this stage in their respective careers, and has accordingly cut into Thompson’s minutes.

Thompson is averaging 13.8 points on .418/.354/1.000 shooting splits, 3.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 0.6 steals across Dallas’ first 10 games. That scoring average represents Thompson’s lowest output since his 2011-12 rookie season.

The 34-year-old’s 35.4 percent 3-point shooting rate this year, on 8.2 triple tries a night, is his worst ever. That number is absolutely solid and still marks him as a legitimate long range threat for opposing defenses, but it’s hardly elite. To wit, Thompson’s prior low is 38.5 percent on 9.3 triple tries a night. His career rate is 41.2 percent on 7.6 long range looks.

While Thompson was also pursued in free agency by his hometown Los Angeles Lakers (his day Mychal, a former Showtime-era L.A. champ, is currently one of the team’s radio commentators). Per Tim MacMahon of ESPN, Thompson ultimately chose the Mavericks instead because he trusted Dallas’ championship upside more than he does Los Angeles’.

“Honestly, it’s rejuvenated me and done something I needed bad just for my mental and my career,” Thompson said. “So, I really feel the love here, and I feel highly valued that I can do great things.”

In fairness, the Mavericks did finish with a 50-32 record last year en route to an NBA Finals appearance. The 47-35 Lakers were eliminated by the Denver Nuggets in a five-game first round playoff series. Both clubs finished ahead of the Warriors, however, who missed the playoffs entirely.

Always a beloved fan favorite in Oakland and later San Francisco, Thompson was clearly pretty beloved by both his colleagues and even Warriors staffers. Hundreds of Golden State employees took to the hallways of Chase Center to give the aging former superstar a warm welcome. Many wore the iconic sea captain hats Thompson infamously used to don while steering his boat around the San Francisco Bay.

So far, the Warriors are thriving without the Washington State product, having gotten off to an 8-2 start. New additions Buddy Hield, Kyle Anderson and De’Anthony Melton have essentially replaced Thompson by committee, while forward Andrew Wiggins is enjoyed his best season in years. Thompson’s Mavericks are 5-5.

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