Klay Thompson Leaving the Warriors is the End of an Era

Photo of Klay Thompson and Jared Dudley by Keith Allison via Wikimedia Commons

It’s the end of an era in the Bay. The best-ever backcourt duo arguably in the history of the National Basketball Association is no more. On Monday morning it was announced Klay Thompson, one half of the Splash Brothers, was taking his ball and moving to Texas to join the Dallas Mavericks. Officially, the Golden State Warriors dynasty is over.

The duo of Steph and Klay gave the Bay Area four championships and countless memories. Klay gave us the most electric scoring performance I have ever seen when he dropped 37 points in the third quarter of a 2015 matchup against the Sacramento Kings. What about game 6 Klay? Klay always showed up when he was needed most, in the finals. Klay is also well known off the court for his dog Rocco and his boat where he regularly hosted outings with Warriors players and even famously picked Draymond Green up in a pinch before a game because of a Bay Bridge shutdown. Oh Captain Klay you will be missed.

We all saw this coming. While Klay attempted to say all the right things during the 23-24 season, his frustrations were visibly bubbling over. He rejected a two-year, 48 million dollar offer from the Warriors at the beginning of the season desiring a longer contract. Klay after 2 major injuries and a 2 year recovery process just wasn’t the same Klay. He was an elite defender before the injuries and while still decent he was not defending at the level we fans have grown accustomed to. His jump shot became streaky and with these setbacks, Killa Klay found himself coming off the bench. This didn’t sit well and it was obvious. None of this is to say Thompson is not a serviceable guard as he still is an elite shooter when he gets going.

As a free agent, Klay met with multiple teams. He was rumored to be linked to the Denver Nuggets and the Los Angeles Lakers where his father Mychal Thompson famously played alongside Magic Johnson and the Showtime Lakers. The relationship with the Warriors was fractured. Klay felt he deserved more than a two-year deal and decided to bet on himself. As we all know, sometimes betting on yourself doesn’t always work out.

The Dallas Mavericks offered Klay an opportunity to be back in the starting lineup alongside Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic. The Mavericks are fresh off an NBA Finals defeat to the Boston Celtics where they were destroyed in 3-pointer differential. Klay will plug in nicely, spacing the floor for catch-and-shoot threes, as the Mavericks play a lot of isolation sets for Doncic and Irving. Klay accepted a 3-year 50 million dollar deal surprisingly over a reported 4-year 80 million dollar deal from the Lakers. The opportunity to save on taxes and win a fifth title essentially won him over. How important is a fifth title to Klay? Let’s just say he has a list of every NBA player who has won at least 5 titles taped up in his locker. That is some elite company.

This is not how any of us envisioned Klay’s swan song playing out. The Warriors released a heartfelt statement in which they announced the future and much-deserved retirement of Klay’s number 11 jersey. “Klay’s legacy will live on forever, and we look forward to the day we can retire his #11 jersey at Chase Center, where he will join a host of Warriors immortals, including those who helped shape this recent dynasty—himself included.”

Thank you Klay for 13 years of excitement and the best Warriors basketball ever. We all will be rooting for you in Dallas. As for the Warriors dynasty, that’s all folks!