Klay Thompson has proven to be one of the Golden State Warriors’ greatest assets, especially thanks to the way his playstyle pairs with Draymond Green and Stephen Curry.
Although these players are considered to be veterans by this point in their careers, the trio has proven to be one of the most fearsome combinations in the National Basketball Association.
With a multigenerational passion for professional sports and personal determination, Thompson has gone on to claim multiple championship wins.
How Many Rings Does Klay Thompson Have?
Klay Thompson has won 4 championship rings during his 9 seasons with the Golden State Warriors, averaging 19.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.3 assists.
The years in which he won his rings were:
2022
2015
2017
2018
In total, Thompson has played 647 regular-season games with his team.
Most Warrior fans have pointed to the strong, veteran player core that the California team has created for themselves as the reason for their 2022 championship win.
While Thompson’s age may be a concern for some, his years of experience have proven to be incredibly beneficial.
By having veteran players like Klay Thompson at the heart of the Warriors, the new talent that the Warriors have been accepting has someone to learn a productive playstyle and mindset from.
How Tall Is Klay Thompson?
Klay Thompson is 6’6”, which puts him above the average for professional shooting guards, which is considered to be between 6’3” and 6’5”.
Although Thompson may be above the average for his position, he’s far from the tallest shooting guard in the National Basketball Association.
When comparing Thompson to professional favorites such as Devin Booker and James Harden, Thompson is noticeably taller.
The National Basketball Association has been seeing a trend in the increasing heights of both shooting guards and point guards.
Thompson’s height only plays a small portion of what makes him such a good shooting guard, with the bigger reasons being his natural skill and his overall large size.
Although Thompson may be incredibly tall, he is also much wider than most other lanky shooting guards.
This 220lb shooting guard is like a walking wall and has a massive range of reach thanks to his wingspan of 6’9”.
Facing Thompson dead-on isn’t an option and getting around this large player isn’t easy either.
Klay Thompson may be a massive obstacle to get around physically, but he’s also alarmingly fast for his size.
His quick-thinking and agile nature allow him to make decisions on a dime and execute those plans within seconds.
While there is no denying that Thompson’s size has played a major role in his success on the court, what has allowed his size to be used as an advantage is his athletic instinct and speedy movements.
A shooting guard may not need to be the biggest player on the team, but their crucial role requires that they know how to use their strengths and their opponent’s disadvantages.
After an entire career of working alongside Stephen Curry and his family’s athletic history, Klay Thompson was destined to become one of the best professional shooting guards.
Is The Warriors’ Big Three Worth The Hype?
Yes, the Warriors’ Big Three is genuinely worth the excitement created by their fans.
The Golden State Warriors’ Big Three consists of Klay Thompson, Stephen Curry, and Draymond Green.
This powerful trio has previously been compared to the bond formed between Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, and Manu Ginobili of the San Antonio Spurs.
During the Warrior’s 2022 Finals game against the Boston Celtics, the Warriors’ trio beat the Spurs’ trio’s record for most wins in the Finals over the past 30 years.
Growing up, Klay Thompson looked up to Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili and was amazed by the way their players were able to be the perfect teammates for one another.
Now that Thompson, Curry, and Green have broken their record, Thompson is shocked and honored to be mentioned in the company of his heroes.
Thompson earned 3 out of the 4 championship rings during the time with Curry at his side.
There hasn’t been a single championship game that Stephen Curry has won without having Klay Thompson and Draymond Green by his side.
This level of effective teamwork hasn’t been seen since the late 1990s when the San Antonio Spurs chose Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker during the 1997 National Basketball Association draft.
Duncan was the top pick for the Spurs, with Parker being selected around the end of the first round, and Ginobili being selected during the second round.
Curry was selected by the Warriors as their No.7 pick after the Minnesota Timberwolves passed on him twice and was considered by the New York Knicks.
Thompson was the 11th pick for the Warriors during the 2011 Draft.
One of the greatest draft steals that the Golden State Warriors have ever committed was Draymond Green, much like the Spurs’ Manu Ginobili.
Are Klay Thompson And Stephen Curry Really Friends?
Yes, Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry are friends off-court.
Although they may be close friends now, it took both players years before they began exploring the idea of being anything more than co-workers.
According to Thompson, it took over 3 years before he and Curry got to know each other better on a personal level.
The pair have never had negative opinions of one another.
They’re both just incredibly quiet and reserved people.
While bonding with a friend over the ability to enjoy quiet moments together is a freeing feeling, it often leads to friendships taking a long time to start up.
For the first 3 years of working together, both Curry and Thompson were so focused on their careers that they didn’t make time for hanging out platonically.
The event that led Curry and Thompson to becoming good friends was when they joined USA Basketball for a trip to Barcelona, Spain.
After a few sangrias and some quiet rounds of golf together in 2014, both players discovered that they enjoyed each other’s company.
Ever since the summer of 2014, these players have been glued by the hips to one another.
As their friendship began to flourish, both players noticed how much easier it was to coordinate plans of attack on the court and sense what the other was going to do next.
After years of playing by each other’s sides, neither of them has to expend much thinking power to work together.
All of their on-court movements have become second nature to each other.
Klay Thompson is inspired by the teamwork that he and Curry have been able to form, especially alongside Draymond Green as well.
Thompson understands and appreciates how rare a bond like his and Curry’s is in the National Basketball Association or other professional sports.
Will Klay Thompson Become A Hall Of Famer?
Yes, Klay Thompson is considered to be one of the most likely candidates for entering the National Basketball Association’s Hall of Fame.
After his record-breaking teamwork between him, Stephen Curry, and Draymond Green, even the Golden State Warriors believe their trio has earned their places in the Hall of Fame.
Out of the Big Three, the Golden State Warriors believe that Stephen Curry has the best shot of being added to the Hall of Fame first.
However, Curry’s greatest achievements wouldn’t have been possible without the support of Thompson and Green.
Both Stephen Curry and Draymond Green are considered to have a higher likelihood of entering the National Basketball Association’s Hall of Fame.
If Curry and Green manage to make it into the Hall of Fame, then there’s no reason to leave Thompson out of the mix.
Not everything about a basketball player’s success comes down to the numbers.
What makes Klay Thompson and his teammates worthy of their spot in the Hall of Fame is their abilities as playmakers and their ability to work together at a moment’s notice.
While there is no denying that having plenty of championship wins and a legacy like that of LeBron James is impressive, the Big Three bond is a valuable rarity.
Who Is Klay Thompson’s Father?
Klay Thompson is the son of Mychal Thompson, the well-known former Los Angeles Laker.
Klay and Mychal Thompson aren’t the only members of their family with a history and career in professional sports, with nearly every member of his family having their preferred sport.
Julie Thompson, the Warriors shooting guard’s mother, was a volleyball player when she met her future husband.
From the very beginning of their relationship, Julie and Mychal Thompson wanted to raise a family of athletes.
Klay Thompson may be the best-known member of his family, but he’s far from the only Thompson sibling to follow in their parents’ footsteps.
Mychel Thompson is a basketball player as well, and Trayce Thompson is a baseball outfielder.
Julie Thompson loves to watch her children play sports, despite preferring to stay out of the spotlight.
She is grateful that she gets to watch her son do something that he loves with his life and believes he’s an incredible athlete.
Klay Thompson’s love and instinct for basketball come from his father, who has always looked to help his son improve.
Although Mychal Thompson is known for always having a way for his son to improve his playing, Thompson claims that his father is never mean about his criticism and is one of his most effective critics.
Mychal Thompson retired from the National Basketball Association in 1991 and began co-hosting a Portland radio show alongside his former teammate Kermit Washington.
Thompson later moved to Los Angeles to become a radio color commentator for the Los Angeles Lakers.
The shooting guard’s father still works as a Los Angeles radio host to this day, but he now works alongside John Ireland.
Mychal Thompson has a street named after himself in his hometown of Nassau in the Bahamas called “Mychal Thompson Boulevard.”
Is Klay Thompson Still Injured?
No, Klay Thompson has finally been able to return to the court after struggling with a string of injuries.
Thompson is incredibly grateful to be back on the court for his first off-season in years due to his multiple, previous injuries.
For the first 6 years of Thompson’s career, he was able to play with a clean bill of health and rarely missed a game.
When he did miss games within his first 6 years, none of the injuries were major enough to cause any long-term pain.
Even when Stephen Curry began to have problems with his ankles, Thompson was able to carry the extra weight for the Golden State Warriors.
Trouble didn’t arise for Thompson until 2017 when he began spraining his left ankle multiple times, with ankle problems even carrying into the 2018 season as well.
Although it was clear that Thompson’s left ankle was going to cause long-term problems, he couldn’t stop himself from going back to the court as soon as he felt better.
His left ankle had improved by late 2018, but he then began to have problems with his hands and knees.
One of the worst injuries that Klay Thompson has ever gone through while on the court occurred during the 2019 playoffs.
Thompson had jumped in the air to land a slam dunk when Danny Green hit him from behind.
This caused Thompson to come crashing to the ground at an awkward angle for his knee and caused Thompson to tear his ACL, which is a ligament that helps the knee bend.
The pain that Thompson felt was so intense that the veteran player was rolling on the ground and clutching his knee in agony.
This injury caused Thompson to miss the entire 2019-2020 season.
Shortly after his knee healed, he tore his right Achilles.
Is Keeping Klay Thompson On The Warriors Good For The Team?
Yes, keeping Klay Thompson is considered to be good for the Golden State Warriors at this time.
Although some Warriors fans believe that Thompson is getting too old and fragile to play on the same level he once did, others believe that breaking the loyal bond that the Warriors and Thompson share would be bad for the team’s morale.
In an age of professional basketball where many young players are criticized for not giving their all to their teams, showing the young players that commitment to their team can allow them to have a long and fruitful career like Thompson’s is the best shot they have at keeping their young players motivated.
Klay Thompson is good for the Golden State Warriors as long as they still have Stephen Curry and Draymond Green.
Rather than removing Thompson from the team entirely, some recommend that Thompson instead take a pay cut due to the limited amount of games he has been able to play in recent years.
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