It’s highly doubtful anyone had Klay Thompson, of the Golden State Warriors, leading the NBA in scoring at any point in the season.
So it might come as a surprise to many that his 29.7 PPG (thru Sunday) has him doing just that, and Klay is looking to prove he is indeed one of the NBA’s elite scorers.
Fresh off his new four-year $70 million extension, Thompson went out and dropped a career high 41 points against the Los Angeles Lakers. The most impressive part of that performance was he connected on 77.8 percent of his shots, while putting up five three-pointers.
The very next night he continued his torrid pace by amassing 29 points on the Portland Trailblazers putting up a trio of three-point shots.
Thompson, and backcourt mate Steph Curry, are referred to as the NBA’s “Splash Brothers”. The name originates from their innate ability to splash the ball through the net with their outstanding three-point shooting technique.
Curry and Thompson led the NBA in three-point makes for the 2013-14 season, with Curry netting 261 made trifectas, and Thompson hitting 223 from deep range.
This season Thompson is among the NBA leaders in three-point makes with 10, and he is proving to the Warriors organization that they indeed made the right decision keeping him over the offseason.
It was no secret that Golden State wanted Kevin Love on their roster. However, no matter how hard the Minnesota Timberwolves tried to acquire Thompson in a deal for Love, Golden State’s answer remained a firm and concrete ”no”.
When Thompson spoke out on the trade he was more than grateful for the organization’s belief in his ability.
“I was more happy when they showed faith in me that they didn’t want to budge and trade me for a guy [in Love] who’s a multiple all-NBA guy and a proven All-Star. I thought that was really cool that the Warriors believed in my potential.” Golden State Warriors shooting guard, Klay Thompson, on Golden State signing him to a four-year, $70 million extension, instead of trading him to Minnesota for Kevin Love.
Potential is something Thompson has shown since his rookie season when he posted 12.5 points per game. Every year since Thompson has been able to increase his average, and last season posted 18.4 points per contest.
In addition to being one of the league’s best catch and shoot players, Thompson has also possesses the ability to drive the basketball, as he has already taken the ball to the hoop 14 times this season.
Thompson was already coming into his own for the Warriors as a solid shooter, he is now one of the better on-ball defenders in the league, a distinction which he earned during the 2014 FIBA Championships.
By doing so, Thompson has become real two-way threat in the NBA, and when paired with fellow Splash Brother in Curry, the sky is the limit not only for Thompson, but more importantly for the Golden State Warriors.
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