The past three years were a rough period for Klay Thompson, and it was no fluke that they coincided with the fall of the Golden State Warriors.
Without him, they finished with a 15-50 record in 2020, and the following year they barely missed out on qualifying for the NBA playoffs.
But with him returning this past season, the Warriors rediscovered their soul and won the NBA championship.
They did so despite the fact that Thompson’s production was a bit sub-par compared to his production prior to his ACL and Achilles injuries.
But for Golden State to win its fifth ring of the Stephen Curry area, Thompson will need to return to the level of play he was consistently at prior to June of 2019.
If he doesn’t, the team has a real chance of falling short of that goal.
Thompson Was Somewhat Inconsistent In 2022
When Thompson returned on Jan. 9, everyone understood that it would take a while for him to look like himself again, especially since he hadn’t played in an NBA game in two and a half years.
Exactly 6 months ago today, Klay Thompson made his return after missing two seasons due to injuries.
“First bucket, first dunk, and first 3-pointer..” pic.twitter.com/nmdsa1a4yT
— SplashBrosMuse (@SplashBrosMuse) July 9, 2022
For much of the regular season, his shooting efficiency was up and down, although at times he showed flashes of who he was in his prime.
Then, he finished the regular season with a bang, averaging 30.8 points on 48.0 percent overall shooting and 45.0 percent from 3-point range in the last six contests of the schedule.
Thompson’s inconsistency continued in the playoffs, but when the Warriors really needed him to, he took things to a much higher level.
In the Game 6 clincher versus the Memphis Grizzlies in the second round, he put up 30 points while going 8-of-14 from downtown, while also contributing three blocked shots.
Then in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals, Thompson had 32 points while once again knocking down eight 3-pointers.
Although his overall shooting in the NBA Finals was poor, he got it down often enough from downtown, hitting at least 38.5 percent from that distance in four of the six games versus the Boston Celtics.
https://twitter.com/koreaga4/status/1546295459504848897
Thompson is one of the greatest outside shooters ever, and outside shooting is Golden State’s superpower.
When he isn’t hitting from deep, it greatly diminishes that superpower for his team, and it’s a superpower the team will need more of since the road to a fifth championship will be tougher.
The Competition Is Getting Tougher
The Western Conference is expected to be more competitive this coming season than it was this past season.
The Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets will be much better just by virtue of a few of their stars coming back from injury, and both teams could give the Warriors a run for their money in the playoffs.
The Minnesota Timberwolves now have All-Star center Rudy Gobert, and the New Orleans Pelicans are expecting Zion Williamson to be healthy at some point.
In addition, the Los Angeles Lakers, who already have LeBron James and Anthony Davis, could reload by trading for Kyrie Irving, a man who torched the Warriors in the 2016 championship series.
With the rest of the conference getting better, the Warriors will also need to get better, and their best bet to do so would be Thompson being Thompson again.
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