With the 11th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft the Golden State Warriors selected Klay Thompson who played three seasons of college basketball for the Washington State Cougars.
During his time with the Cougars he averaged 17.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.3 steals, and shot 42.4 percent from the field, 39 percent from three, and 82.7 percent from the free throw line. His best season was his junior year when he averaged 21.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.6 steals, while shooting 43.6 percent, 39.8 percent from three, and 83.8 percent from the free throw line.
Thompson helped the Cougars win 22 games that season the most for the school since 2007-2008, though no NCAA tournament berth.
Besides leaving Golden State, Thompson’s rookie season was noteworthy for three reasons. First the season was shortened to 66 games due to a lockout and even though the Warriors were somewhat in the playoff hunt, Monta Ellis got traded along with Ekpe Udoh and Kwame Brown to the Milwaukee Bucks for Andrew Bogut and Stephen Jackson, and during the jersey retirement ceremony of Chris Mullin, Peter Guber and Joe Lacob were booed.
While the Warriors finished with only 23 wins in the 2011-2012 season, in the 29 starts for Thompson he averaged 18.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3 assists, and shot 44.1 percent from the field, 38.1 percent from three, and 90.6 percent from the free throw line. His totals for the season 12.5 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2 assists, and he shot 44.3 percent, 41.4 percent from three, and 86.8 percent from the free throw line.
Yet little did Warriors fans know at the time it was the start of something incredible. At the time many believed nothing had changed for the franchise though. Still Mark Jackson led Golden State to the conference semis in 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 lost in the first round.
Instead of being content with making the playoffs on a yearly basis, another change was made. This time Jackson got fired and in came Steve Kerr who has since led the Warriors to four championships and an NBA record of 73 wins in 2015-2016.
For Thompson, he was the perfect complement to Stephen Curry, a shooting guard who did not need to have the basketball much, yet defenses still needed to pay attention to where he was on the court due to his shooting ability. Which is why the due became known as “The Splash Brothers.”
More importantly he excelled defensively.
When he got hot there has not been anyone like him in NBA history. Thompson has the NBA record for most points in a quarter with 37 which came against the Sacramento Kings, he scored 60 points against the Indiana Pacers in only 29 minutes, and has the record for most threes in a regular season game with 14.
During his time with Golden State he has made a number of clutch shots late in games.
Unfortunately there was also a tragic turn of events for his career. In the NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors, Thompson while driving for a drunk and Danny Green making an attempt at a block landed awkwardly.
Green was called for a foul, yet Thompson had made his way to the locker room. At the time there was no indication of how severe the injury was and if he did not shoot the free throws he was not able to return to the game. So word gets to him and as he limps back out on the court, he makes both free throws. He had torn his ACL.
Thompson missed the entire 2019-2020. After recovering from the torn ACL and getting prepared for the 2020-2021 season, while working out he ruptured his right achilles tendon. Which meant another season lost to a serious injury.
More importantly though he spoke about the injury and what it meant for his mental health.
In Warriors history Thompson ranks second in three pointers made and attempts, fourth in games played, minutes, fifth in field goals and field goal attempts, three-point percentage, sixth in points, seventh in defensive rebounds, ninth in steals, and 10th in free throw percentage.
He made the All-Star game five times, All-NBA twice, and an All-Defensive team.
Overall with the Warriors he averaged 19.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists, while shooting 45.3 percent from the field, 41.3 percent from three, and 85.8 percent from the free throw line. His best season was 2015-2016 in which he averaged 22.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and shot 47 percent from the field, 42.5 percent from three, and 87.3 percent from the free throw line.
His first career basket was a three that came in the third quarter against the Los Angeles Clippers and was assisted on by Ellis. He finished that game 2-8 from the field, 1-3 from three, and 2-2 from the free throw line and scored seven points. In his final game of the regular season in a Warriors uniform he scored 25 points against the Utah Jazz, and his final points came on a three in the third quarter.
Thompson also was known for being laid back and never seemed to get too high or too low. He went out and played his game, was known also for his mode of transportation to practice or games, boating in or riding a bike, and his love for his bulldog Rocco.
Curry paid tribute to Thompson by posting this “Gonna miss you @klaythompson. Even though we won’t finish the journey together, what we did will never be done again. Couldn’t have imagined a better run with you and @money23green. Changed the whole Bay Area. Changed the way the game is played. Killa Klay at the center of it all. Thank you for everything bro. Go enjoy playing basketball and doing what you do.”
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