Some separations don’t fully register all at once.
Even for Stephen Curry, the reality of life without Klay Thompson still arrives in waves.
More than a year after the Golden State Warriors moved on from Thompson, Curry acknowledged in an ESPN feature that there are still moments when the absence feels strange — and unexpectedly heavy.
“I wish he was still here,” Curry said.
Old Warriors Habits Die Hard
As detailed in ESPN’s reporting, some of Curry’s habits from the Splash Brothers era haven’t gone away.
Curry admitted that whenever he watches a Dallas Mavericks game, his eyes still instinctively follow Thompson around the court. It’s not intentional. It’s muscle memory. A byproduct of more than a decade spent sharing the floor.
Those instincts resurfaced one night at home while Curry was watching a Mavericks game with his son, Canon. When Thompson knocked down a pair of early threes, Canon asked a simple question that lingered longer than expected.
“Klay’s playing?” he asked. “Why are you here?”
Curry said those are the moments when the shift becomes real again. Not in a transactional sense, but in the small, personal reminders that something fundamental has changed.
“Those are the moments it hits,” Curry said. “Things have evolved in life. But there are reminders of how special of a thing it was.”
A Trio That Was Never Supposed to End
GettyDraymond Green, Klay Thompson, and Stephen Curry.
For years, Curry, Thompson, and Draymond Green spoke openly about the idea of finishing their careers together. Four championships. A style of play that reshaped the league. A run that stood alongside any trio in NBA history.
That context is why Green has admitted he still reacts when television graphics or social media posts frame him and Curry as the league’s longest-tenured duo.
“It should be trio,” Green said, via ESPN. “That’s weird to me.”
Ultimately, injuries altered the trajectory. Thompson lost nearly three full seasons to ACL and Achilles tears, then worked his way back in time to help Golden State capture the 2022 championship. But the physical toll, paired with evolving priorities inside the organization, slowly shifted the relationship toward an ending that neither side had originally envisioned.
What once felt inevitable became complicated. And eventually, it became final.
Seeing Klay on the Other Side From the Warriors
GettyKlay Thompson of the Dallas Mavericks reacts after making a basket against the Sacramento Kings.
According to ESPN’s feature, Curry made an effort to reconnect when the Warriors traveled to Dallas last season.
He spent the night at Thompson’s house and helped organize a small get-together that included Green and members of the Warriors’ staff. The idea wasn’t to revisit how things ended, but simply to spend time together in a setting that felt familiar.
Green later described it as friends catching up, while also acknowledging how unusual the moment felt given the circumstances.
Curry, reflecting on it afterward, framed the night as something closer to an unspoken acknowledgement. Not a planned conversation about the split, but a quiet recognition that things had changed for good.
The next night brought a sharper reminder of that reality. Thompson intercepted a Green pass, blocked a Curry floater late, and helped Dallas close out a win over Golden State. For a brief stretch, nostalgia gave way to competition.
That edge, as ESPN’s Anthony Slater noted, never really disappeared. It was part of what made their partnership work in the first place.
Why This Still Hurts for Curry
Curry’s comments weren’t framed around regret in a transactional sense. There was no second-guessing cap decisions or wondering aloud about alternate roster paths.
Instead, his reflection leaned toward the human cost of separation.
Curry spoke openly about how difficult it has been to fully process the end of a partnership that spanned more than a decade. Those relationships don’t simply disappear once the jerseys change.
“You don’t spend 12 years with your friends and then that just fades,” Thompson said in the story, capturing a sentiment Curry clearly shares.
Curry has remained vocal in his support of Thompson since the move to Dallas. He has taken notice when criticism follows Thompson there and has made it clear he still sees his former teammate as part of the Warriors’ legacy, regardless of uniform.
“The idea that he’s carrying the Warrior success no matter what jersey he has on, I do like that,” Curry said. “But I don’t like people taking shots at him when he doesn’t have that coverage and he doesn’t have his guys with him.”
That tension — pride mixed with distance — is what continues to linger. The bond hasn’t faded. The setting has just changed.
What Comes Next
Thompson is still trying to win in Dallas. Curry is still pushing for one more meaningful run in Golden State. Their paths have clearly diverged, even if the connection hasn’t.
Whether a reunion ever materializes remains uncertain. Curry has acknowledged that, for now, it feels distant and largely outside his control.
But one reality has already taken hold.
This wasn’t simply a roster decision or a change of scenery. It marked the end of a partnership that defined an era of Warriors basketball — one that reshaped how the game was played and how success was measured.
Even now, long after the uniforms have changed, the separation still carries weight.
It hasn’t faded. And it likely never will.
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