Days have passed, yet Klay Thompson’s exit from the Golden State Warriors still stings! From lead scorer, Stephen Curry to head coach Steve Kerr, members of the Warriors fraternity spent the last few days honoring the shooting guard and highlighting how glad they were to have the player on their side. Thompson’s exit is even causing one of his prominent rivals to speak out in support of the 34-year-old, even if the competition between them would continue.

At the ESPY Awards held yesterday, CJ McCollum was asked by a reporter about his thoughts on Klay Thompson’s acquisition by the Dallas Mavericks. The New Orleans Pelicans shooting guard let out a slight laugh before stating “I’m happy for Klay. As long as Klay is happy, that’s what really matters.” Highlighting the need for Thompson for a change of scenery, McCollum further wished for his rival to have a good season. However, he would have been remiss if he hadn’t added at the end, “I hope they win every game except for against us.”

Klay Thompson and his Pelicans counterpart’s rivalry first grabbed attention back in April. During a regular season matchup, the Warriors could be seen trailing by a score of 43-59 during the 2nd quarter. Standing on the sidelines, McCollum was heard shouting, “Post up again, n***a, Post up again, n***a” in the direction of Thompson. The 5x NBA All-Star wasn’t the only player in McCollum’s line of sight, as he also took a shot at Stephen Curry, who couldn’t help but smile. Unlike Curry, however, Thompson engaged back by shouting, “I’ve been busting your a** for years… for 10 motherf***ing years.”

Unfortunately for McCollum, there is some truth to what the four-time NBA champion had insinuated. In the 11 years that the duo have been rivals, they have faced off against each other a total of 24 times. With a roster comprised of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and other star players by his side, Thompson successfully established a 17-7 win record in these matchups. Furthermore, he also secured an average score of 22.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.4 assists during the games. Compared to the 18.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.9 assists that McCollum averaged, there is no competition.

If the Pelicans shooting guard thought that Thompson would not manage to get the better of him with the Mavericks, then he might be wrong. After all, Luka Doncic and co currently hold a 16-0 record against the Pelicans. Yikes!

CJ McCollum had endorsed a potential Klay Thompson exit scenario even before the official announcement

Over the last few weeks, Klay Thompson leaving the Golden State Warriors became a much-discussed issue. Even before it became official, CJ McCollum discussed a potential exit in length during ESPN’s ‘NBA Today’ segment on the 26th of June. Despite being his on-court rival, the 32-year-old understood that Thompson had not felt valued for the last one and a half years.

McCollum felt Thompson’s role was diminished within the franchise after head coach Steve Kerr reportedly started rookie Brandin Podziemski over him at several points during the last season. The Warriors star denied that putting a rookie over him was not a ‘demotion’, but his Pelicans rival was having none of it.

“I think it may be time for both parties to look at other options. I think that’s what they’re doing right now,” said McCollum. “You go from arguably the greatest run the game has ever seen — Klay was a huge part of that (with) his threes and defense, hitting big shots. To be treated the way he was treated this last year-and-a-half or so, I looked at it as disrespect from the outside looking in. I think he may have taken it that way as well.”

Various reports suggested the main reason behind Thompson walking away was that the player and the franchise could not reach a mutual agreement for a contract extension. Furthermore, with the Warriors only willing to give him a 2-year deal while they gave his teammate Draymond Green a 4-year extension, Thompson might have been right to feel undervalued within the team. All that might have culminated in a decision that ended the player’s 13-year run with the Warriors.

Before leaving, check out some insights that Shaquille O’Neal’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, shared about the Lakers legend’s infamous feud with the late Kobe Bryant.