After Klay Thomspon agreed to depart the Golden State Warriors and join the Dallas Mavericks, his longtime teammate Stephen Curry paid tribute to him on social media.
Curry posted a series of photos with him and Thompson on his Instagram story and wrote a message that he’s “gonna miss” his backcourt mate, closing with “Splash Bros 4 life my guy.”
Curry and Thompson, along with star forward Draymond Green, helped establish the most successful dynasty of the current era, leading the Warriors to four NBA championships in eight years from 2015 to 2022. Former Golden State head coach Mark Jackson declared the duo to be “the greatest shooting backcourt in the history of the game” way back in 2013, and they delivered on that bold statement.
Unfortunately, there were indications throughout the 2023-24 season that Thompson’s time in Golden State was on the verge of coming to an end. The 34-year-old was relegated to a bench role while the Warriors committed to giving more minutes to their younger players. His season average of 17.9 points per game was his first time averaging under 20 points since the 2013-14 campaign, his third season in the NBA.
Despite Thompson’s struggles throughout the year, Curry made it clear that he hoped their partnership would continue.
“I could never see myself not with those two guys,” Curry said of Thompson and Green after Golden State’s loss to the Sacramento Kings in the play-in tournament. “I understand this league changes and there’s so many things that go into it, and we’re not going to play forever. But, we’ve experienced so much together, at the end of the day, I know they want to win, I know I want to win. That’s all I’m worried about.”
Now, Curry will have to forge ahead with a new-look Warriors team. Golden State is hoping to add talent around him to replace Thompson’s production and help the team return to playoff contention next season.