Klay Thompson is developing quite the reputation as a silent assassin for the Golden State Warriors. This was clearly demonstrated when he single-handedly ripped the heart out of the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals.
But thanks to his easy-going personality and the fact that he rarely emotes while playing, many have assumed Thompson doesn’t carry the same inner fire as a guy like Draymond Green, who wears his emotions on his sleeve, and then some.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
“You don’t see it with Klay,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr told Zach Lowe of ESPN.com. “You don’t hear it. He rarely speaks. But that guy is a baller.”
We’ve definitely seen the “baller” this postseason. As mentioned previously, he is the only reason the Warriors weren’t closed out in five games by the Thunder.
General manager Bob Myers put it a different way.
“He’s like the first Terminator — the one who doesn’t say anything, but computes his mission in his head,” Myers said, via Zach Lowe of ESPN.com. “The Terminator’s mission is to kill John Connor. Klay’s mission is to win games.”
Thompson’s game has been elevated this postseason. He’s raised his stats in every major category except blocks compared to his regular-season averages. He’s scoring 24.8 points (tied with Stephen Curry for the team lead), hauling in 3.9 rebounds, dishing 2.5 assists and raking 1.1 steals per game during the playoffs thus far.
He’s also one to hold a grudge, much like Green, his demonstrative teammate, who can rattle off all 34 players taken before him during the 2012 NBA Draft.
“I considered myself the best shooter in that draft, so when someone took another shooter over me, it was a slap in the face,” Thompson said.
Thompson has developed into one of the NBA’s premier two-way shooting guards. He’s also big enough to defend many small forwards and often takes on the opposing team’s best perimeter player, regardless of position.
He’s quite simply been the best player at both ends of the court throughout the playoffs for the Warriors. The “Terminator” has carried out his mission with great success thus far. Now only two games from a repeat NBA championship, Thompson and his teammates will need to stay hot to win in Cleveland the next couple of games.
Game 3 of the 2016 NBA Finals tips off Wednesday night at 9 p.m. ET at Quicken Loans Arena.