The demise of Klay Thompson‘s form has been painful to witness for those who have seen his glory days. After allegations of being “washed” plagued Thompson for a better chunk of this season, he was finally benched. That marked the end of an era for the Dubs and Klay, who had been the starting two-guard for the 12 years of his career in the dynasty. Naturally, when finally faced with the proposition of moving to the bench for younger stars like Jonathan Kuminga wasn’t easy to digest for the four-time NBA champion.
After all, why would it be? Wasn’t he the same guy who scored 36 points in a single quarter? Didn’t he rescue the Dubs in game six when they were facing elimination? Thompson’s agony when head coach Steve Kerr relayed the news to him was more than justified. However, it’s a harsh reality he has to live with.
Klay Thompson’s confrontation with truth
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A recent report by ESPN reveals the harrowing details of the confrontation Coach Kerr had with Klay while telling him he had been benched. “It was not an easy conversation This is maybe the hardest part about getting further away from our prime. It’s just, after 12 years [of Thompson starting], it wasn’t easy,” Kerr confessed.
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Later in the same article, part of Klay’s reaction is brought to light. “I feel great physically … Mentally, probably a little different story. But such is life,” said Thompson. Since being benched Klay and dubs or having a bit of a resurgence. In the last 10 games, the Warriors have won 8, and in those 10 games, Thompson has had varying degrees of success. He scored 35 points in the game against the Utah Jazz and had four other 20-point performances along the way.
Golden State has an elite bench unit right now with Klay at the helm, and with CP3’s return might make their B-unit the strongest in the league. As of now, the Warriors very much need their second Splash brother in this new role he has assumed and if they want to make a deep post-season run his experience along with Steph, Draymond and Chris Paul is paramount to the teams’ success. However, can he make it back to the starting lineup?
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