Klay Thompson has some advice for the Boston Celtics — focus more on playing and less on complaining.
The Golden State Warriors guard took aim at some members of the Celtics who have been airing their grievances with officials during the NBA Finals. Celtics players bickered with referees during a 104-94 loss in Game 5, after what they saw as bad calls, and Thompson shared his thoughts on their complaints.
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Klay Takes Aim at Celtics
“I don’t think we focus on it too much, to be honest,” Thompson said when asked by a reporter if the Warriors were looking to feed off Boston’s frustrations. “We have a next-play mentality. We’re just worried about getting a great shot up in those moments, not what the other team is talking about.”
“Basketball is a very continuous game,” he added. “If you’re out there talking to the officials the whole night, you might get in your own way.”
Though Thompson appeared to be trolling the Celtics a bit with the pointed comments, the Boston players likely agree with his assessment. After the game, Celtics head coach Ime Udoka said his players got a little too carried away with complaining about missed calls.
Ime Udoka got a technical foul here🤨
“I think it was a little bit of that throughout the game,” Udoka said after Monday’s game. “So, not necessarily only in the fourth. Probably something we shouldn’t do as much, and we all did too much.”
Thompson Airs His Own Grievances
While Thompson may take a bit of satisfaction in the misfortune of the Celtics, he’s not been without his own complaints during the NBA Finals. After Game 3, the played in Boston in the series, he and some other members of the Warriors voiced frustration with the vocal Celtics fans and some of the language they used.
While Thompson said the crowd didn’t affect the Warriors in their 116-100 loss in Game 3, he did get a dig in at the fans’ behavior.
Klay was not happy with Boston fans dropping f-bombs with children in the crowd 😳
“We’ve played in front of rude people before, dropping F-bombs with children in the crowd,” he said. “Real classy, good job Boston.”
Much of the fans’ anger was pointed toward Warriors big man Draymond Green, who has gotten into a series of on-court spats with Celtics players. The television broadcast caught fans chanting curse words at Green, and after the game his wife took to Instagram to call them out.
“Warriors fans would NEVER!!” Green’s wife, Hazel Renee, wrote. “My kids were at the game tonight hearing that mess! Very DISGUSTING of you little Celtics fans Just shameful!”
But the NBA doesn’t seem to share Golden State’s concerns about fan behavior in Boston. League commissioner Adam Silver addressed the raucous atmosphere with WCVB’s Peter Eliopoulos, saying that he wished the fans had been respectful but that he enjoyed their passion.
“I want fans to enjoy themselves,” Silver told. “Of course from the league office you want to see it done with respect for all the participants, but I get it. I love the energy that the Boston fans bring to the game.”
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Warriors’ Klay Thompson Trolls Celtics for Whining to Refs During Finals