Why Klay deserves all the love from Warriors fans in return to Chase

Why Klay deserves all the love from Warriors fans in return to Chase originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

No matter how deep one dives into the history of the NBA, they won’t find a more decorated teammate tandem than Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, the twin pillars of the remarkable Chicago Bulls dynasty that won six championships.

Jordan and Pippen were excellent as individuals but incredible as a duo. Though their offense was superb, it was their role as lead dogs in Chicago’s famed “Doberman” defense that formed the backbone of those teams. Michael and Scottie, all arms and legs and sinewy athleticism, spent 691 games terrorizing opposing offenses.

Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, just as symbiotic, spent 666 games as Golden State Warriors teammates doing the same thing to opposing defenses.

Just as there has never been paired wings as menacing as Jordan and Pippen, there have not been paired guards more perfectly suited to abuse defenses than the pair that earned their “Splash Brothers” nickname.

That is among several reasons why Thompson deserves the warmest of welcomes Tuesday night when as a member of the Dallas Mavericks he takes the floor at Chase Center to face Curry and the Warriors. Curry is Golden State’s undisputed franchise player, No. 1 on the list of distinguished greats, but Klay’s presence was an essential component in Steph reaching that stature.

Put simply, each reached his peak largely due to the existence of the other.

The Warriors plan an elaborate celebration of Thompson’s Golden State career that includes each fan entering the building receiving a captain’s cap, as Klay often did on the boat he sometimes used to commute to practice and games. The cap will feature a Warriors logo. Curry will be wearing such a cap, eventually doffing it as a signal to each fan to follow suit.

There will be the perfunctory tribute video, presumably lasting about one minute. Perhaps it should be one minute and 11 seconds – a nod to Thompson’s No. 11 jersey number and when he was selected in the 2011 NBA draft.

Honestly, though, the Warriors easily could fill Chase by producing…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/why-klay-deserves-love-warriors-153251762.html

Author : NBC Sports BayArea

Publish date : 2024-11-12 15:32:00

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