For quite some time, guard Klay Thompson has been a mainstay for the Golden State Warriors as they became the NBA’s latest dynasty.
Thompson teamed up with Stephen Curry to form the greatest shooting backcourt of all time, nicknamed the “Splash Brothers,” and they helped Golden State win four NBA championships in eight years beginning in the 2014-15 season.
But former Warriors general manager Bob Myers admitted while on 95.7 The Game, a San Francisco Bay Area radio station, that he thought Thompson would be drafted right before they could choose him in 2011 by the Milwaukee Bucks.
“I think Milwaukee was taking Klay at 10. So there’s that. He’s gone. There’s no Klay Thompson. That’s how close that was…” 👀
Bob Myers discusses pivotal moments as Warriors GM, drafting Klay and Draymond pic.twitter.com/jFu8BP6O00
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) March 13, 2024
Thompson, the son of former NBA big man Mychal Thompson, grew up in Southern California and played three years of college basketball at Washington State University, where he averaged 17.9 points a game and shot 39.0 percent from 3-point range.
He was considered a top prospect in the 2011 draft, but luckily for Golden State, Milwaukee went with Jimmer Fredette, who was then traded to Sacramento.
Now in his 13th NBA season, the 34-year-old Thompson is a shell of his former self after tearing his ACL in 2020 and tearing his Achilles in 2021.
While he’s shooting a strong 38.2 percent from downtown, he’s at just 42.2 percent overall this season, and head coach Steve Kerr decided to move him to the bench a few weeks ago.
It seems to have helped, as Thompson is shooting 46.6 percent overall and 44.2 percent from beyond the arc in nine games as a reserve this season.
The Warriors have won 15 of their last 21 games, which has allowed them to climb into 10th place in the Western Conference, and if they make the playoffs, it’s safe to say no one would want to face them there.
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