When Klay Thompson took Trevor Ariza's knee to his head late in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals, he was having one of his typically strong games - 20 points on 57 percent shooting, including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc.
He scored in his usual manner - catch-and-shoot treys and fast-break buckets - while contributing to the defensive effort that helped cause James Harden to turn the ball over an NBA playoff-record 13 times.
Thompson and fellow Splash Brother Stephen Curry have more in common than the fact their dads were pretty decent NBA players in their own right. They both had to earn respect as first-round draft picks coming out of college basketball non-powers.
For Curry, that road was a little more winding as the Golden State Warriors chose to reset their team around him. For Thompson, his ascent has basically mirrored the franchise's since he arrived in the NBA in 2011, although not without a few bumps in the road.
Just last summer, the Warriors appeared close to trading the shooting guard for Kevin Love. Another angle of the deal had him going to the Los Angeles Lakers, for whom his father Mychal Thompson calls games on the radio. Yet a reported organizational split on trading Thompson ensued, and rookie coach Steve Kerr balked at dealing him.
Relieved, Thompson went about his business and matured as a player. "In year four, I'm looking to take a huge leap like I did last year," he told the Bay Area News Group last summer.
Thompson promptly signed a four-year contract extension with the Warriors in the $70-million range. In his first game after the pact was announced (Golden State's second of the season), he dropped a then-career-high 41 points on the Lakers. That personal mark lasted less than three months. On Jan. 23, he scored an NBA-record 37 points in one quarter against the Sacramento Kings.
He finished with 52.
The leap included his first NBA All-Star appearance, and, as his NBA career has mostly trended, statistical improvements across the board.
| Klay Thompson | FG% | 3P% | TS% | PTS | PER | Warriors W-L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-13 | 42.2 | 40.1 | 53.3 | 16.6 | 12.7 | 47-35 |
| 2013-14 | 44.4 | 41.7 | 55.5 | 18.4 | 14.3 | 51-31 |
| 2014-15 | 46.3 | 43.9 | 59.1 | 21.7 | 20.8 | 67-15 |
With maturity also comes resilience. The grind of an NBA season is like a gauntlet at times, and then come the playoffs. Forget however intensely you thought you were being defended on a Tuesday night in Milwaukee in January, the postseason turns things up a notch.
For Thompson, he discovered that in the second round of this spring's playoffs against the Memphis Grizzlies. With veteran shooting guard, and the Grindfather of defensive specialists, Tony Allen in his face on the perimeter, Thompson was 3-for-11 from deep in the first two games of the series.
In the last four games against Memphis, he shot 12-of-21 from three - a 57 percent clip.
"You never worry about Klay having a (bad) shooting game," Curry told the Sporting News' Jimmy Spencer. "He''ll bounce back quick and he never loses confidence. That's what you can expect from him."
Going into the NBA Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Thompson is averaging just under 20 points and three assists per game this postseason on 46 percent shooting.
