Getty Klay Thompson #11 of the Golden State Warriors complains about a no call against the Utah Jazz in the first half at Chase Center on April 02, 2022 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Golden State Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson has struggled at times this season since returning from two and a half years sidelined by multiple catastrophic injuries.
Due to those periodic struggles, Thompson has been forced to endure a healthy dose of criticism from a portion of the Golden State fan base. By the time a post-practice media session rolled around on Tuesday, April 5, the five-time All Star had finally had enough, sending some of that criticism back in the direction of those bandwagon fans.
“Man, nobody is appreciated by the fans. The fans are so, psh. The fans, man,” Thompson said. “The real fans know what’s up. I’m talking about the fans prior to winning championships who sat through many years of not winning.”
“But these new fans who come around and expect greatness, and they weren’t anywhere to be found prior, they can get away. We can forget those folks,” Thompson continued. “They don’t deserve to rep the Warriors.”
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Thompson’s Initial Answer Inspired by Question About Teammate
GettyGolden State Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson looks on during a game against the Washington Wizards.
Thompson’s answer was actually inspired by a question about his teammate Nemanja Bjelica, who has been an object of some derision after joining the team before the start of the 2021-22 regular season.
However, Thompson’s answers highlighted a personal rawness and frustration that Monte Poole of NBC Sports described as both telling and justified in a piece published Tuesday after Thompson made his comments.
If any portion of his low-key tirade was directed toward fans sprinting to social media to urge his benching, Thompson’s ire is entirely justifiable. It’s an insult to his career.
His shot has been streaky, with more games in which he shot under 40 percent (nine) than over 50 percent (six). His defense has had moments good and bad. This is to be expected of someone coming off two major injuries, both of which required surgery, resulting in 31 months of basketball inactivity.
Thompson has played in 30 games since returning from a torn achilles tendon on January 9 — an injury that followed a torn ACL in Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors. He is averaging 19.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game throughout that stretch on just over 29 minutes of playing time per night, according to Basketball Reference.
Thompson is shooting 41.8% from the field and 37.1% from behind the 3-point line this season, both of which represent career lows and are approximately 4 percentage points lower than his career averages.
Thompson Posted Spectacular Night in Big Game Against Utah Jazz
GettyDraymond Green (right), Klay Thompson (center) and Jordan Poole (left) celebrate during a game between the Golden State Warriors and the Utah Jazz.
Thompson has struggled compared to pre-injury self — who made five straight All-Star appearances the same five seasons the Warriors earned trips to five straight NBA Finals, winning three titles along the way. But as Poole noted, those struggles are to be expected.
Thompson is still only 32 years old and likely has several productive years left ahead of him. And considering what he’s accomplished as a member of the Warriors, it’s hard to blame him for his frustration with a certain segment of the fan base.
Perhaps no game has highlighted the potential Thompson yet retains better than the Warriors’ crucial 111-107 victory over the Utah Jazz on Saturday, April 2. Thompson led the team back from a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter, scoring 36 points on 14-of-28 from the field, including 8-of-17 from behind the arc.
The Dubs’ win kept them in third place in the Western Conference standings and essentially eliminated any chance of losing home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, which was a real possibility after Draymond Green missed 30 games with a back injury during the middle of the year and Steph Curry suffered a sprained ligament in his foot that will keep him out through the end of the regular season.
And while Thompson’s comments Tuesday may rub some bandwagon fans the wrong way, you can bet they’ll be back on his side if the Warriors finally get healthy and make yet another deep run through the postseason in 2022.
I figured it’ll take time for Klay
to get back to his all star form,
after 31 months away from the game.
These band wagoners are not sport fans
they weren’t here in the late 70’s, and stuck with the team when they were struggling, we cheered every time we went to the home games in Oakland.
Klay’s defense is picking up,
that between offense and defense,
defense is the toughest of the two, especially coming off an injury.
Klay asked Coach Kerr
to guard the opposing team scorer,
instead of Wiggins.
With Green and Igaudala
coming back from injuries
this team will go deep into the playoffs.
Team health is the key
to every past Champions.
Got my seasons in 73. When they won the championship they were picked to finish last and had schedule the Ice Follies for the playoff dates. Ended up at the Cow palace and swept the Bullets.
Tell em klay them some times azz fans I never gave up on you caused you’re a Splash Brothers and you would get your swagger back,you wouldn’t believe how many times I found myself defending you these just now ban wagons fans are horrible, but you know your true fans, you’re alright 👍 in my book kick ass and take numbers from now own be well.
I stopped following NBA basketball in the mid 90s do to it becoming more a business than a sport. I lived through the years of playoff drought and sub 500 seasons. Sleepy Floyd big quarter against the Lakers was the highlight for all Warriors fans outside of the Rick Berry Championship season. Then came Run TMC and the disastrous trade of Richmond (my favorite Warrior of all time) for Billy F-ing Owens. Within a couple seasons Chris Webber destroyed the team and I was done. Always a Warriors fan and hoped they would win but never lost any sleep over it. Then all of sudden they are the best team in NBA, what TF happened? Now there is a fan base that won’t accept anything but being the top team in the NBA, which is complete BS. Thompson is the sh!# and to push him to this point says a ton about some of the fans at this point. I still don’t follow NBA but will always support my team Golden State Warriors and hope they win.