The deal will be a sign-and-trade, with the Mavericks sending guard Josh Green to Golden State. This move breaks up Thompson and Steph Curry, popularly known as the “Splash Brothers.” Thompson and Curry — along with Draymond Green — played 13 years together and won four NBA Championships in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2022.
A Splash Brother divorce means that Thompson will now be grabbing rebounds in Dallas with his new NBA teammate, Luka Doncic.BREAKING: Free agent Klay Thompson plans to join the Dallas Mavericks on a three-year, $50M deal with a player option, sources tell ESPN. Thompson ends his historic Warriors run as part of a multi-team sign-and-trade that’ll also send Josh Green to Charlotte. pic.twitter.com/4GJ5hR3H5o
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2024
It’s a tale as old as time. A lasting relationship (Steph Curry and Thompson), decaying with time (Thompson regressing as a player), only for one partner to want out in favor of a younger, more viable partner (25-year-old Doncic).
Thompson will likely endear himself to Mavs faithful quickly. His skill set is desperately needed in Dallas. The NBA Finals runner-up lost in five games to the Boston Celtics after a significant regression in 3-point shooting percentage and a woeful performance at the free throw line.Klay Thompson: Warriors legend
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 1, 2024
End of an era. pic.twitter.com/xdPWP1fWQo
In the Western Conference Finals versus the Oklahoma City Thunder, roleplayers P.J. Washington and Derrick Jones Jr. lit it up from beyond the arc, but both failed to show up against Boston. Washington’s incredible 46.9% from 3 against Oklahoma City dropped to a miserable 27.3% against Boston. Jones Jr.’s percentage went from 37% to 25%.
On top of that, the Mavericks underperformed from the free-throw line, shooting 68.1% in the Finals against Boston’s 86%.
If there’s anything Thompson has been good at his whole career, it’s 3-point shooting and free throws.
Let’s not pretend that Thompson is the player he used to be. He suffered back-to-back season-ending injuries in 2020 and 2021 that forced him to move at a much slower pace than he used to. The former All-Star and All-Defensive second-team player will never reach those decorated heights again, but his shot can still fill a glaring hole in Dallas’ offense.
At age 33, Thompson led the league in free-throw shooting percentage at 92.7%, with his Splash Brother ex just behind him at 91.7%. He’s still a high-level marksman from deep too, averaging 3.5 makes on 9.0 attempts per game.
The Beatles Breakup of Sports
Even though I live in Dallas and (occasionally) root for the Mavericks, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little sad about the news. I’ve been watching Thompson on the Warriors for as long as I’ve been an NBA fan. He and Curry were an institution. Not only for the NBA, not only for sports, but for pop culture as a whole.I remember seeing him when I was 12 years old playing against the Atlanta Hawks in 2016. These were the prime Warriors days, kids (like me) would force their parents to show up to games hours early just to watch the Splash Brothers warm up.
The Curry, Thompson and Green core were like a traveling circus, barnstorming cities one at a time and taking the hearts of every young basketball fan with them.
But I was a contrarian and I didn’t like the Warriors. Sure, I showed up early to watch their practice routines, but that’s just because everyone else was doing it. I planned on booing them extra loud during the game so that the other kids around me knew that I was different.
I was in denial. The Splash Brothers were awesome. I was able to maintain my anti-Warriors front when it came to Curry, but Thompson was undeniable. He wound up scoring some of the prettiest 27 points I’d ever seen en route to the Warriors’ 50th win of the season. Liking him, and only him on the Warriors, appealed to the hipster in me. It was like saying George Harrison is your favorite Beatle. You know it’s not true, but saying it feels good.
All that to say, seeing a Curry-less Thompson is going to be strange. It’s hard to picture him in anything but blue and gold, and impossible to tell the story of the NBA’s last decade without mentioning him.
Mavericks fans should be ecstatic. Without giving up much, they’ve added an excellent offensive wrinkle to an already electric Doncic-Irving backcourt. You could say they got their George Harrison (perhaps in his Cloud Nine era which is a reference for maybe three people).Seeing Klay Thompson in another jersey is going to be weird
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) July 1, 2024
Perhaps this divorce will get the team over the hump, or maybe Thompson will be drunk-texting Curry by January begging for another chance. The only thing that’s sure is that Thompson in Dallas will sell tickets, jerseys and draw eyeballs in a way that no Doncic-led team has felt.
