Klay Thompson officially started his Mavericks journey today with his introductory press conference. And the thing is, Klay looked different. He was no longer the recent visage of a man in conflict, with pain etched on his face. With a new team came a new thread and a new number on the back to make a legacy out of. After setting the record straight about why he left the Dubs and what his plans were with the Mavs, it was time for the moment everyone was waiting for.

He posed with the new number he’ll be cladding from now on instead of his patent 11. From almost 1805 miles away, his former teammate and brother, Draymond Green, kept an eye on the proceedings. Just as he clasps the basketball on the court, he seized his moment to pull Klay’s leg. Taking to social media, Green posted a picture on his Instagram stories of Klay holding the Mavs’ #31 jersey and left a message.

To make life harder for Klay, Draymond lightheartedly wrote, “31 IS NASTY WORK KILLA.” On one hand, people might blame Draymond for Thompson’s exit, but his ribbing of the Mavs swingman proves their healthy relationship. But that’s on the surface.

Deep down, it was hurting Green just as much as everyone else associated with the Warriors. “This sucks for me. This time of year always sucks because you build relationships with people, and then out of nowhere, they’re just gone.”

“Like I know how much he (Klay) loves the game of basketball and I didn’t see that last year. Like a part of me wanted Klay to leave and not wanting him to leave in the sense…want him to leave because you only want to see him be the guy that you know he is. So it’s probably better this way, but it’s sucks,” the GSW veteran said in a recent episode of The Draymond Green Show.

He had also mentioned his wish to see Klay back to his best, and that’s exactly what the Mavs’ brand-new #31 is looking for. This time he’d like to do it in a different number than his previous historic number and Klay went on to explain his choice for the unusual switch.

Klay Thompson opens up about his “cool way” to honor a legend after picking #31

Klay’s iconic #11 is something all the Dubs fans hope will be retired someday. His epic catalog of moments wearing that number will remain fresh in the minds of those reminiscing and celebrating the good times. Klay believes the show must go on, and he’d now start afresh to achieve his Championship dream by wearing No.31.

After jokingly blaming Kyrie Irving for taking his number, Klay revealed the reason behind his selection of the digits. “It’s a change for me. I’m not mad at the change, I’m actually excited for it. It’s been a lot of great 31s in this franchise’s history. Jason Terry won a championship wearing that number, and we play very similar styles,” Klay told the gathered press.

He went deeper into the deciding reason and continued, “Reggie Miller wore 31 and I watched so much footage of Reggie coming off screens as a teenager, especially his ability to make game-winning shots, that is the most inspiring thing to see as a shooter.”

Recalling the moment from the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals when Reggie Miller pushed Michael Jordan after a curling run to sink a game-winning three in Game 4, Klay said, “That would be a cool way to honor him, someone who really paved the way for a shooter like me.”

Klay’s similar play style to that of Miller helped him excel at his shooting game. Despite his under-par string of performances, he still averages 41.3% 3-pts shooting in his career, which is more than Miller’s 39.5%! While we need to keep in mind the modernization of the game (for the difference in 3P shooting), what are the odds of Klay Thompson repeating that play against the Warriors in the NBA Finals? Probably a bit of daydreaming, but that’s the sort of moment we love the game for, don’t we?

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what brand maker, Leonard Armato, had to say about the deadly duo, Shaq and Kobe, check out this video