Add Klay Thompson to the list of committed heroes-turned-abandoners. Granted, before injuries led to his progressive downfall in Golden State, No. 11 probably would've been a Dubs lifer. His connection with Stephen Curry was unlike any player-to-player connection in the modern era.
Together, the two guards destroyed defenses during five consecutive NBA Finals appearances from 2015 to 2019.
At that point, life couldn't have been better for Klay. He was scoring, breaking records, making big money, and escaping the fierce swirl of public criticism, being that he was the third option on his team. Who wouldn't have thought this was the place to ride off into the sunset from?
"I was part of building this culture," he told Bleacher Report in 2018 . "It wouldn't be leaving everything I worked for behind, but it would be a whole new start. I was one of the pioneers of this. I'm one of the longest-tenured players here besides Steph, so I'm very prideful of the turnaround the Warriors have made.
So, did being third fiddle to Curry and Kevin Durant not bother him?
"Just because I'm not the face of the franchise doesn't mean I'm not recognized for it. Real fans and the people in the organization and my peers around the league, they see the work I've put in and realize I've been a huge component to the success here for the last five, six, seven years, so I have an identity here. It would be hard for me to envision going anywhere else," he added.
Klay's mindset was exactly what GSW needed
There was a time he had to feel that he was one of the top 2 shooting guards in basketball. Had there not been a certain James Harden posting baffling stat lines and rewriting the record books, Thompson may have racked up more All-NBA and All-Defensive selections on his resume.
But not being caught up in the glitz and glam of media praise, the game's second-best shooter kept on keeping on. Klay once tallied a record fourteen 3-pointers in a game, scored 60 points in a record number of minutes, and was notorious for being the only guy in a dribble-dribble-dribble league to pile up points with next to no dribbles.
"It's not like I don't care what people think," Klay said. "It's like as long as I'm doing the job I love, taking care of my family, and having fun, I can't worry about what other people think too much. It's unnecessary. It's pressure for no reason. I used to beat myself up if there was something embarrassing. Now I'm like ... we're all human. I'm not the only one who has ever been through anything."
As much as his reserved character on and off the court helped supercharge some of Golden State's best seasons, there came a time when it was hard not to get frustrated. Maybe he doesn't want people praising him in every breath, but he wants the respect that he rightfully deserves.
"Oh, I didn't? It came out already?" he asked , his eyes — beginning to fill with disbelief and the look on his face growing with a temper — when told that he didn't make an All-NBA Team in 2019. "I mean, that's cool and all. When you go to five straight Finals, it takes more than a couple All-NBA guys … Do I think there are that many guards better than me? No."
Related: "Jerry and I gave him his going-away present - When Jerry Krause gave Scottie Pippen a $20 million parting gift
Once a Warrior, always a Warrior
Although bitter, Thompson's exit from the Bay invoked precious feelings and even tearful reactions. After 13 successful seasons — four NBA championships, multiple All-Star appearances, the most 3-pointers in a game — No. 11 is no longer a Warrior, which just won't sit right for a while.
In his years, the star guard epitomized the art of being a catch-and-shoot 3-point sniper, though he wasn't limited to that. 92.7% percent of his 2481 3-pointers in a Warriors uniform were assisted — many of them by his former partner in crime, Curry, who often ran back on defense before his splash brother had even released the ball.
Related: "This is not the storybook ending" – Baron Davis on Klay leaving the Golden State Warriors
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