Warriors’ Klay Thompson ‘Mirrors Kind of the Way I Played,’ Says Ray Allen

NBA Hall of Famer, Ray Allen has quite a bit of hardware in his repertoire.

A 10-time NBA All-Star, Allen won two NBA Championships and will have his jersey retired at UCONN on Friday.

With his multiple accolades, Allen sees the next generation coming behind him.

Insert Golden State Warriors All-Star Klay Thompson.

“I’m not impressed with him now because he’s shooting like that,” Ray Allen told me of Klay Thompson on the Scoop B Radio Podcast.

“I’ve always been impressed with him. I always thought that he was one of the best players in the league. He mirrors kind of the way I played.”

That’s high praise from Allen, now a retired 18-year NBA vet.

Thompson’s averaging 21.8 points per game for the reigning NBA champion, Golden State Warriors; a shade above his career 19.5 points per contest.

This season, Thompson has been shooting 39.5 percent from downtown, a shade below his career 41 percent.

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Klay Thompson’s Shooting Woes This Season

In the Warriors’ eight-point win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in October, Thompson shot 4-for-20, scoring 14 points. In the Warriors’ 127-101 Christmas Day loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, Thompson shot 2-of-7 from the field.

Thompson also shot 2-for-16 from the field against the Portland Trail Blazers on February 13.

It doesn’t matter! Shooters shoot!

Per CBS Sports: Thompson has been steady in February while shooting an impressive 50.4 percent, including 50.0 percent from three-point range.

The eight-year veteran has scored at least 20 points in six of nine contests during the month, as well as in his All-Star appearance.

“He’s shooting the lights out,” Ray Allen tells Scoop B Radio.

“But you know it doesn’t take him being in the slump to recognize that, or for him to be in the hot seat, because that’s what happens when you shoot. You’re gonna have highs and you’re gonna have lows, but consistently he’s been, over time if you look at what he’s done, he’s been great.”

Ray Allen & Klay Thompson Two of Best Shooters in NBA History

Allen did most of his damage on off-ball movement and catch-and-shoot 3s. Thompson does the same thing with the Warriors, as the All-Star guard rarely dribbles in Golden State and is constantly moving without the ball, which frees him up for wide-open shots from beyond the arc.

Per ClutchPoints’ Ashish Mathur: Allen has hit the most 3-pointers in NBA history at 2,973. Thompson is No. 17 on the list with 1,726 and will continue to climb the list as his NBA career goes on.

When he was in the league, Allen rarely scored on isolation plays. The 10-time All-Star was the recipient of good screens from his big guys which allowed him to shoot with space from the 3-point line. The Warriors never run their offense through Thompson, and yet he scores 20 points a night with ease.

Thompson only has a career usage percentage of 24.7. Allen had one of 23.8. Both shooters don’t need the ball in their hands to be lethal offensive weapons and are going to dominate games by running around the court and shooting catch-and-shoot shots with ease.

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