While a lot of things went right for the Golden State Warriors during their 12-point win over the Sacramento Kings on Thursday, the play of Klay Thompson warrants special mention.
Mere hours after Warriors GM Bob Myers declared that his struggling shot would come around, Thompson had what was his best performance since returning from a 900-plus day absence.
In just 24 minutes of play, Thompson put up a team-high 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting, adding seven assists and five rebounds. He also made seven of his nine attempts from deep. In doing so, he passed a veritable hoops icon for 20th place on the NBA‘s career three-point field goals list.
Namely, the late, great Kobe Bryant.
In the wake of his move up the all-time rankings, the Warriors star offered some touching words about one of his biggest heroes.
Thompson Pays Homage to the All-time Great
After the game, Thompson was probed for his reaction to moving past Bryant. It was clear, not just from his response but from his body language, that the man and the milestone both mean a great deal to the five-time All-Star.
“Always a huge honor,” Thompson said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “I mean, I miss him so much. He was one of one. He’s my biggest inspiration for playing basketball. So, we really miss him and Gigi.”
With his seven triples on Thursday, Thompson has now accumulated a whopping 1,829 for his career. And in the days ahead, his climb up the all-time list should continue. As it stands, Thompson is within one three of No. 19 Chauncey Billups and within two of injured Clippers star Paul George.
Alas, at his current pace of 2.8 long-range bombs per game, he likely won’t be able to overtake Heat point guard Kyle Lowry at No. 17 any time soon, assuming the veteran resumes regular play.
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Steph Sounds of on Klay’s Big Night
For his part, Warriors MVP Stephen Curry — who scored 20 points of his own against the Kings — was over the moon about his longtime teammate’s vintage performance.
“It was awesome to see,” Curry said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “I love when he’s got that pep in his step and getting rewarded for shots going in and he can get hot at any moment and he’s got that look in his eye. We love to see that. It’s a big boost for the whole team and I know it is for him as well.
However, he did have one critique for his brother-in-arms.
“I just have to give him some pointers on his celebrations, but other than that it was kind of a flawless performance by him.”
Curry was referring to a play in which Thompson was celebrating a made bucket in anticipation of a Kings timeout. However, that timeout didn’t come immediately, leaving Thompson looking a bit silly.
“The first one he didn’t realize that they hadn’t called a timeout yet,” Curry said. “He was already looking at the crowd. It was definitely going to happen, but he was a little bit premature.”
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Klay Thompson Has Moving Response to Latest Impressive Feat