It’s no question that the Golden State Warriors are the team to beat in the NBA and one important part of that is Klay Thompson. He has made a name for himself in the league these past two years. Klay is known as one of the best two-way guards we have today and he’s given us glimpses of how he can fill it up offensively.
He plays a role in a high-powered offense that I truly admire. Anyone that knows me and has seen me play knows I live for three-point shooters — particularly guys that move without the ball and come off screens, and Thompson does that to perfection. It’s one part of the game that I believe has become merely extinct. We see it from guys like Kyle Korver, J.J. Redick and the Splash Brothers, but that’s about it. I find myself missing the Allan Houston’s, Rip Hamilton’s, and Ray Allen’s of the world that made moving without the ball look like pure art. However, Klay Thompson has been filling that void by killing his opponents as a threat without the basketball.
During his collegiate days, Thompson found himself playing more of a ball dominant role. But playing alongside two guys in Steph Curry and Draymond Green who are more than willing to pass up a good shot for an even better shot, he’s found himself in a lot of catch-and-shoot situations.
Klay Thompson got buckets at Washington State and averaged 21.6 ppg and 5.2 rbg during his final season.
Klay is more than capable of putting the ball on the floor and scoring in other ways, but watching him humiliate his defenders with off the ball action is purely magical. A lot of it has to do with the Warriors’ fluid offense and playing beside a huge threat in Curry, but at the same time, Thompson hustles his ass off to get to the open spot, get his feet set, and have his hands ready. He knows how to read screens and read how his defender is playing him. Klay Thompson is just fun to watch. He’s always balanced and always set and he has a textbook shooting stance that all young shooters should learn from.
