Minority owner of the Dallas Mavericks Mark Cuban seems to think that one of the team’s newest additions in Klay Thompson will be extra motivated to play well after how his last season as a member of the Golden State Warriors panned out.
“@KlayThompson's got a lot to prove. … Klay was ready for a move. All the grief he got last year – particularly the way it ended. So the timing was right.” – @mcuban pic.twitter.com/FA3oVzKw9K
— Club Shay Shay (@ClubShayShay) September 25, 2024
By all accounts, Thompson’s stint in Golden State was incredibly successful. He earned five All-Star appearances, a pair of All-NBA selections and won four titles in his 13-year tenure with the Warriors.
However, his decade-plus stretch playing for the Warriors came to an end in an anticlimactic manner. In the 2023-24 campaign, Thompson carved out perhaps his worst season in the NBA since the 2011-12 season, when he was still a rookie.
The 34-year-old is one of the best 3-point shooters the NBA has seen, but he had a down year shooting the ball from deep, at least by his standards. Thompson — a career 41.3 percent 3-point shooter — knocked down 38.7 percent of his 3s, which marked the second-worst 3-point percentage of his pro career.
It’s not a coincidence that last season signified the first time since he was a first-year player that he came off the bench for the Warriors. Thompson did start the lion’s share of games he appeared in, though, considering he was part of Golden State’s opening lineup in 63 of the 77 contests he played.
Perhaps Thompson’s decision to change teams after playing for one NBA team for such a long period of time will prove to be the right one for his career. He seemingly has a better chance of winning a title with the Mavericks next season than he would had he stayed in Golden State, as Dallas is fresh off an NBA Finals appearance in 2024.
Furthermore, Thompson will play with two great playmakers in Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic, both of whom will theoretically help the veteran get open looks on the perimeter. Thompson will be able to make his regular-season debut with the Mavericks on Oct. 24, when the team is scheduled to take on the San Antonio Spurs.
