Getty Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors.
The Golden State Warriors are in as good of a position as anyone in the NBA heading into next year. Fresh off of their fourth championship in eight seasons, they’ll be looking to defend their title with the same core players and an extra year of development for their young guys.
Players like Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, and James Wiseman should all be able to make a big-time impact, but at the end of the day, Golden State’s ceiling revolves around the play of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson.
Last season was Thompson’s time to shine, as he returned to the court after missing over two years of action. And now, he’s feeling good. During an Instagram Live, Thompson sounded off on the Warriors’ title chances heading into next season.
“Who else [is] excited for the season? 2023. I ain’t making no promises, but I like our chances. Let me tell you. We wild,” Thompson proclaimed.
While his team endured a couple of losing seasons, Thompson hasn’t missed the playoffs since his rookie season. And, if that weren’t enough, the last time Thompson made the playoffs and failed to reach the NBA Finals was in 2014.
It’s been a wild journey for the veteran sharpshooter, and head coach Steve Kerr is confident in the star’s ability heading into next year.
Thompson is ‘on Cloud Nine’
For the first time in years, Thompson was able to spend the offseason training and enjoying himself rather than rehabbing an injury. During an interview with Damon and Ratto of 95.7 The Game, Kerr spoke about how Thompson is doing and expressed confidence in the fact that he can be more consistent next year.
“Klay is just on cloud nine right now,” Kerr said. “He can’t wait for camp to start, and I would expect him to be more consistent this year, just having that conditioning base underneath him, and that consistency of good health and being able to train all summer.”
He also mentioned that Thompson is having a phenomenal offseason.
“We texted the other day, and he is just having such a great summer,” Kerr explained. “He’s in such a wonderful place now that he’s back and he’s healthy, and his brother Trayce [Thompson] is hitting home runs for the Dodgers.”
Obviously, fans will have high expectations for Thompson, and last year, he showed that he can still deliver. But CJ Holmes of the San Francisco Chronicle thinks Thompson has more to give next season.
Thompson Could Return Closer to Normal
While Thompson put up solid numbers last year, they weren’t as good as what he was doing at his peak. However, Holmes believes that he can get closer to those marks in the upcoming year.
“Thompson has had plenty of time to get his legs back under him this offseason, and it should result in greater patience offensively and better efficiency.
“While it might be tough for him to match his 2017-18 splits, him shooting at least 45% from the field and 42% from deep feels possible. Defensively, last postseason proved that he can still hold his own,” Holmes wrote.
The Warriors have a deep team, so Thompson can afford to lean on his teammates a bit, but he’ll almost certainly be looking to show out in his first full season since returning to the court.