The Dallas Mavericks dominated the Sacramento Kings in the Play-In tournament today. They will now meet the Memphis Grizzlies to determine who’ll face the OKC Thunder in the first round of the Playoffs.  And at the center of tonight’s incredible showing by the Mavs were Anthony Davis and Klay Thompson. But for Klay in particular, tonight was about redemption more than anything. Perhaps it had something to do with his coaching this year, but more on that later.

You see, Klay had one of his worst performances for his former club, the Golden State Warriors, last year against the Kings. Stephen Curry and company were in a must-win Play-In game against Sacramento. And Klay came up short when his teammates needed him the most at the Golden 1 Center. He failed to register a single point, going 0-10 from the field and 0-6 from beyond the arc. And the Warriors crashed out of the Play-In after losing, 118-94.

So today, when he was reminded about his dreadful performance that night, Klay recalled what it was like for him.   “Man, last time I was here was not very fun,” he said. Klay continued, “It felt really good because I thought I missed it. But it bounced up out of the air and went in. So, that kinda lifted the lid off the rim for me, so nice.” In fact, he went as far as to correct a media member who told him he went 1-10 the last time. “0-for-10, sir. Heard about it all summer,” he said.

Just goes to show how much this has been dwelling on Klay Thompson’s mind. But tonight, he washed away all prior sins with his incredible showing for the Mavs. Klay went 8-11 on his shooting from the field, registering a total of 23 points tonight. But that’s not all, he shot at an insane 71% from beyond the arc, making 5 out of his 7 3-pointers tonight.

We’re sure his former teammates at the Warriors will appreciate this showing for Klay after he couldn’t deliver for them last year. Someone similarly appreciative of Klay Thompson tonight was Mavs HC Jason Kidd. And when Klay found out about the rating his coach gave him, he spilled the beans on how he felt about Kidd.

Klay Thompson opens up about Jason Kidd as a coach

Despite his incredible showing tonight, Klay assessed himself quite harshly. He gave his performance a B. But that was something his coach, Jason Kidd, simply did not agree with. Kidd thought Klay’s performance deserved at least an A tonight. And when a reporter revealed this to Thompson, he went on to explain how grateful he was for Jason Kidd and the forgiving nature of his coaching.

“I appreciate Mr. Kidd, I appreciate him, not running me into the ground this season. I mean, he played me, like, 27-28 minutes tonight. And, it’s just been a real pleasure to be playing under him. He’s such an amazing basketball mind,” said Klay about his current head coach.

Coming from someone who’s done a repeat with the Warriors under Steve Kerr, this is indeed high praise for coach Kidd. As a 35-year-old in the NBA, Kidd only played Thompson for an average of 27.3 minutes a game this season across 72 games. And tonight’s game showed that this was the right call. An over-encumbered and beat-up version of himself could not have put in the shift that Klay did tonight. It seems Jason Kidd knew this.

All in all, kudos to both Jason Kidd and Klay Thompson. Their combined efforts have put the Dallas Mavericks one step closer to the Playoffs. But the Grizzlies are next on the docket. And Klay will need to remember what he did tonight at the Golden 1 Center and channel that energy in the Mavs’ next game!