That’s what makes this downward trendline notable as Thompson has not had to force his offense but rather let it come to him as it had in the past.Īmong Warriors players that have averaged at least 12 minutes per game in the postseason, Thompson ranks third in usage at 22.4% behind Stephen Curry and Jordan Poole. Remember, this is the same player that scored 60 points on 11 dribbles in less than 30 minutes. #KlayDay /23Hr07NzlNīut one thing that has made Thompson so special throughout his career is his ability to put up points and impact the game while not posting a high usage rate. "That is so Klay Thompson" 😂 on 18 shot attempts in 20 minutes. 9, Stephen Curry laughed when asked about Thompson firing up 18 shots in just 20 minutes after his lengthy absence: “That is so Klay Thompson and I frickin’ love it.” In the postgame press conference after Klay’s comeback game on Jan. Like all shooters, Klay will have some nights when’s he hot and others where he struggles, but the latter have come at a lower frequency as the season has progressed.
KLAY THOMPSON RETURN SERIES
After averaging 15.6 points in 23.4 minutes over 10 games in January, Thompson reached an average of 27.9 points in 34.6 minutes over 10 games in April - the final three games of the regular season and Golden State’s first-round playoff series with Denver. As he and the Warriors prepare for another run at the Larry O’Brien NBA Championship trophy, we look at the key trends that illustrate Klay’s improvement.Īs the trendline above shows, Thompson’s scoring has steadily risen over the course of the season. He’s also some forgettable games - scoring a season-low seven points twice, and shooting below 20% from 3-point range seven times.īut the key is not to focus too much on the highs or the lows, but rather the trends that show Thompson’s progress over the past 48 games. Thompson has had some incredible highs when he looked like vintage Klay Thompson - scoring a season-high 41 points against New Orleans on April 10 his 30-point night as “Game 6 Klay” to close out the Grizzlies in the conference semifinals and a 32-point effort in Game 5 against Dallas to send the Warriors back to the Finals.
A lot of rust can accumulate over 2½ years, and over the course of 32 regular season games and 16 more in the playoffs, Thompson has done the work to shake much of it away. The Golden State Warriors are in the NBA Finals for the sixth time in eight seasons, joining the Bulls of the 1990’s (1991-93, 1996-98), the Lakers of the 1980s (1980, 1982-85, 1987-88) and the Celtics of the 1950s and 60s (1957-1966, 1968-69) as the only franchises to accomplish that feat.įor Klay Thompson, it’s six for six as he missed the past two seasons when the Warriors not only didn’t make the Finals but did not qualify for the playoffs.Īfter suffering a torn ACL in Game 6 of the 2019 Finals - then suffering a torn Achilles tendon during his ACL rehabilitation - Thompson missed a total of 941 days before returning to the court on Jan. Klay Thompson is set to play in his sixth NBA Finals, beginning Thursday in San Francisco.
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