Getty Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors.
The Golden State Warriors‘ sharpshooting group of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Jordan Poole made history in Friday night’s win over the San Antonio Spurs. They became only the second trio of teammates in NBA History to each make over 200 3-pointers in a season, as Poole got over the hump against San Antonio.
After the 130-115 victory, Curry gave a shoutout to his backcourt partner, highlighting Thompson’s incredible perseverance to set a career-high for threes in a season, after battling a number of injuries in the last few years.
“It’s more of a testament to him… and what he’s been through,” Curry said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. “Coming back, I mean he’s the one who set a new career-record this year for threes made. It’s not surprising but it’s amazing to know that he’s still pushing the envelope on what he can accomplish out there. We know we’re going to shoot a lot of threes, it’s about connecting the volume and efficiency that we pride ourselves on.”
The Splash Brothers combined for 74 points in the March 31 win over the Spurs. They totaled 14 made-threes as a pair, shooting 14-of-25 from distance.
Stephen Curry Discusses Gary Payton II’s Return to Warriors
Another talking point of Curry’s sit-down with the media was the play of Gary Payton II. The 30-year-old guard returned to the Warriors’ lineup on March 26, after being sidelined with a nagging abdominal issue.
“Like we talked about when the trade happened and the build-up to him coming back, he just knows how to play,” he said during the same session. “(He) knows how to make winning plays. (He) finds himself in the right place on both ends. Some of the stuff that doesn’t show up in the stat sheet. His ball pressure. Just his overall presence. So, he had a big three in the corner and got a big steal as soon as he came in. Got us a couple of extra possessions [with] offensive rebounds. So, it’s just the little things that you can trust that he’s going to make those plays, and he also gets the crowd involved.”
Klay Thompson Shouts Out Warriors’ Jordan Poole After Beating Spurs
Praise was plentiful after Golden State cruised past Gregg Popovic’s squad. Thompson took time during his postgame availability to shoutout Poole after the trio joined James Harden, Eric Gordon, and Ryan Anderson of the 2016-17 Houston Rockets in the history books.
Klay spoke about the 23-year-old’s bright future and the work he’s put in to elevate his game over the years.
“Credit to Jordan he works his tail off everyday, same with Steph. It’s really cool that we have two other guys who shoot it so well, it makes my job so much easier,” Thompson said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. “Thinking back to his rookie year, to the player that he is now. He’s a champion. He’s got All-Star games in his future. He’s our future for the Warriors, obviously. We got so lucky to get a guy like him at the 28th pick, that just doesn’t happen so often. He’s so much fun to play with. He’s a great scoring point guard as well as a facilitator and he has so much greatness ahead of him.”