Klay Thompson: 'It'd be so hard to envision myself in another uniform'

But two things are clear. One, the Warriors are committed to Thompson. Part of the Jordan Poole trade was about freeing up long-term flexibility to keep Thompson around. That remains the intention. Two, Thompson’s eyes are not wandering. He is committed to the Warriors. “Yes,” Thompson said. “Absolutely. I wouldn’t want to go anywhere else. To play for one franchise, man? That’s so rare. In any sport. Football. Baseball. Basketball. Australian Rules Football. To play for one club is insane. It’s some real legendary stuff. Even what Udonis Haslem did. He’s revered in Miami. Locally. That’s what I cherish. Going around the country, going around the world and people from Northern California or Warriors fans in general are just so prideful about the Warriors. And I was here before banners were hung up. So in a way, it’s our baby. You want to ride it out. I’ve just been so lucky to be a part of this franchise. It’d be so hard to envision myself in another uniform.”
Source: Anthony Slater @ The Athletic

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

Kurt Helin @basketballtalk
Klay Thompson ‘absolutely’ wants to remain with Warriors his entire career
nbcsports.com/nba/news/klay-… – 1:50 PM

Anthony Slater @anthonyVslater
Klay Thompson rewatched all his misses in the Lakers series.
“I learned that I was fried. I was tired. All my shots in Game 6 were short.”
“As I get older, I’ll have to rely on my teammates and my smarts to be as efficient scoring as I possibly can be.”
theathletic.com/4946203/2023/1… – 11:19 AM

Anthony Slater @anthonyVslater
An extended interview with Klay Thompson on his contract status, long-term future with the Warriors, the sting of that Lakers playoff loss and more.
“It’d be so hard to envision myself in another uniform.”
theathletic.com/4946203/2023/1… – 10:05 AM

Anthony Slater @anthonyVslater
Conversation with Klay Thompson coming out in The Athletic tomorrow morning. Quick preview on our latest @AthleticNBAShow.
youtube.com/watch?v=Tq-4lA… – 12:17 AM

Monte Poole @MontePooleNBCS
Steve Kerr today regarding Klay’s, who will get minutes at the 4:
‘Klay staying in the play and not leaking out is a really big deal for us. If he stays in the play, we’re gonna get more long rebounds at both ends.’
Warriors POE: Rebounding – 7:10 PM

Jorge Sierra @hoopshype
Warrior players in our Top 100 for 2023-24:
73. Draymond Green
66. Klay Thompson
60. Andrew Wiggins
6. Stephen Curry
Full list 👇
hoopshype.com/lists/nba-rank… – 12:13 PM

Dalton Johnson @DaltonJ_Johnson
Headband Klay couldn’t miss today at Warriors practice pic.twitter.com/JbW12hTnD7 – 10:50 PM

Tommy Beer @TommyBeer
NBA League Leaders in made three-pointers over the final ten games of the 2022-23 regular season:
1. Klay Thompson: 45 (45-for-101)
2. Quentin Grimes: 44 (44-for-91)
2. Steph Curry: 44 (44-for-113) – 10:21 AM

More on this storyline

Klay Thompson said he went back and watched the film of all his misses from the Lakers series. “I learned that I was fried. I was tired,” Thompson said. “All my shots in that Game 6 were short. They were all on line. They were just short. I don’t know if that’s mental fatigue or physical fatigue. But it happens. Then on top of that, I learned as I get older, I’ll have to rely on my teammates and my smarts to be as efficient scoring the ball as I possibly can be.” -via The Athletic / October 11, 2023

But it all went splat in the second round of the playoffs. Thompson only made 34 percent of his field goals against the Lakers and went 3 of 9, 3 of 9, 2 of 6 and 2 of 12 from 3 in the final four games, three losses. He took a few ill-advised jumpers late in the gut-punch Game 4 loss and finished 3 of 19 in the elimination Game 6, the last taste of failure he’d get before a long summer. “Stings bad,” Thompson said. “Bad. Because you want to win against a team that is a division rival, you want to beat your hometown, you want to beat your friends who are fans of the team, you want to beat LeBron (James) obviously. We have such a deep history with him. Kudos to him. He’s still out here playing at the highest level he possibly can. So, yeah, it stings. Any time you come up short of your goal, and we have many times, it’s just motivation. It’s fuel. You think about it the whole summer. How could you have prepared better?” -via The Athletic / October 11, 2023

“I played this game because my dad played. I idolized him. My favorite athletes were hoopers. Kobe (Bryant). Clyde Drexler and Rasheed Wallace, guys I was able to watch growing up. Reggie Miller. I just wanted to do something I loved for a living. It happened to be basketball. The fact I’m doing it for a 13th straight season is amazing. “I don’t need to go into this year and … I know if I just do my job and I’m in shape and I compete at my highest level, I’m going to make money in this league for a long time. So I don’t worry about it. I’m blessed beyond measure. Obviously you want to make the most in the window you have as an athlete. But I’m not going to let that get in the way of winning a championship. When you win, everything else will be taken care of.” -via The Athletic / October 11, 2023