One of the biggest moves of the 2024 NBA offseason was Klay Thompson leaving the Golden State Warriors. He signed a three-year, $50 million deal with the Dallas Mavericks, ending the Warriors’ dynasty as we knew it.
Klay Thompson didn’t want to leave Golden State, but it got to a point where he didn’t feel like he was being respected as he should. As a result, he left for what he believed to be greener pastures with the Dallas Mavericks.
He received a larger offer from the Los Angeles Lakers but believes the Mavericks give him the best chance to win again. It is hard to argue against that as Dallas represented the Western Conference in the 2024 NBA Finals.
They ultimately came up short, losing to the Boston Celtics in five games. But that is a lot closer than the Warriors or Lakers came to winning. With Klay Thompson in the mix, the Dallas Mavericks are going to improve as well.
The Mavericks have an elite duo of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving to do the heavy lifting. But they learned the hard way against the Celtics that it will take more than that to win a championship.
To keep up with a team such as Boston, you need to be capable of shooting 3-pointers. That is an area Klay Thompson excels at, as he is one of the best shooters the NBA has ever seen.
This past season, he made 38.7 percent of his 3-point attempts. While that was an underwhelming number by his standards, the second lowest of his career, it would be the best shooting season for many players.
But, there was one kind of 3-point shooting that he excelled in last season; shooting off screens. Klay Thompson led the NBA in off-screen scoring, shooting an impressive 41 percent on 3-pointers.
That was an area in which the Dallas Mavericks struggled mightily last season. They made only 32 percent of their 3-point attempts off screens, which was 26th in the NBA. Information shared by Synergy Basketball on X.
That will make the Dallas Mavericks even more dangerous moving forward. It is another layer to their offense that opponents will now have to pay attention to, as they could effectively ignore all of the off-ball actions last season knowing they didn’t have to personnel to take advantage.
With Klay Thompson in the mix, opponents now have to keep an eye on it. They cannot have as much attention on Doncic and Irving handling the ball, otherwise they will be able to set up the veteran sharpshooter for easy baskets off screens.
Klay Thompson may not be the two-way dynamo he was earlier in his career. But he remains a dangerous shooter with an elite skill that will help elevate the Dallas Mavericks’ efficiency on offense.
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