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Klay Thompson will be playing in his eighth postseason since being drafted back in 2011 by the Golden State Warriors.
It was not that long ago when Steph Curry and Thompson took the league by storm to upset the third seed Denver Nuggets back in 2013. They advanced to play the champions San Antonio Spurs and put up a good fight before falling 4-2.
It accurately predicted the potential that the Splash Brothers could become as they got more experience over the years.
Fast forward almost a decade later, the sharpshooter has three championships and is a five-time All-Star player. Today, Thompson is considered a veteran that many of his young teammates admire and look to for advice.
However, we live in a generation where people forget about the past and look at the present and future under a microscope. Russell Westbrook won the MVP just three seasons ago, but is now considered a laughing stock, based on how poor the Lakers have looked this season.
As a shooter, that comes with the territory of living in the present. Most go through stretches where they feel the rim is as big as the Pacific Ocean one game, and then can’t seem to get anything to drop the next game.
Thompson Reveals Publicly of What He Told Jordan Poole About the Playoffs
Thompson’s 22-year-old teammate Jordan Poole is going through a similar trajectory as the Splash Brothers. Now in his third season, he has quickly blossomed into one of the bright young stars of the NBA. Through his first two playoff games of his career, Poole racked up 59 points and has garnered national attention as the third Splash Brother.
Luckily for Poole, he has the luxury of looking for advice with his star teammates—two players that many consider as the best shooters of all-time. Recently, Thompson revealed to the media what he told Poole after his scorching start to his playoff career.
“The playoffs are tricky,” Klay Thompson told reporters April 20 after practice. “The emotions run high when you win, and they run low when you lose. It’s important to stay even-keeled and realize it’s about winning 16 [games], not doing what we are supposed to do, and winning the first two at home, protecting home court. Respecting your opponent, having appropriate fear that they are more than capable of evening out the series if we don’t come in and do our jobs.”
Thompson understands it’s important to not get too high or too low regardless of one’s performance.
Poole’s play has taken a drastic level up mostly due to his confidence he has in his game. But at the same time this could hurt himself on certain occasions with unwarranted self-confidence. Momentum of the playoffs can change at a moment’s notice.
Thompson Understands That Success Can Disappear Anytime
After suffering an ACL injury and then a torn Achilles, Thompson takes for granted everyday he gets to play basketball at such a high level. One moment, the Warriors were destined to three-peat as NBA champions—something that has not been done since the Kobe-Shaq tandem early in the millennium. The next moment, superstar Kevin Durant ruptures his Achilles, and then Thompson tears his ACL, ending the run of five straight trips to the NBA Finals (2015-19).
It took a huge rehabilitation process, but Thompson returned this past season and seems to have returned to his pre-injury form.
“I just tell these young guys most importantly to enjoy this and appreciate the everyday doings of being an NBA player because nothing is guaranteed in this business,” Thompson says about the advice he gives to the younger players.
The nine-year NBA veteran may understand a thing or two about basketball being taken away so swiftly. Hopefully, the advice Thompson gives puts things in perspectives for the rest of the younger players to stay calm and poised for the rest of the playoffs.
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