Steve Kerr pulled Klay Thompson aside, two minutes before the Warriors tipped off against the Kings. Fully aware that Klay was sitting on 295 3-pointers for the season, he didn’t want him chasing a nice round number of 300 in the finale.
“I know you’re five away, just let it happen,” Kerr told Klay. “You don’t need to chase anything, especially early. Just get off the ball and let it happen in the flow.”
“OK, no problem coach,” Klay told Kerr, before attempting six 3-pointers and making five of them in the first five minutes of the game.
“That’s Klay,” Kerr said.
Klay’s mini-explosion sparked the Warriors’ historic 55-point first quarter in the 157-101 blowout in the regular season finale.
The 300 Club is an exclusive one. Klay ended the season with 301, joining Steph Curry and James Harden as the only players to make at least 300 3-pointers in a single season. While Steph achieved the feat in 2015-16 (402), 2016-17 (324) and 2020-21 (337), Harden accomplished the feat during the 2018-19 season (378).
After Monday’s game, Klay seemed super locked in when discussing his latest milestone.
“It’s cool. I think it’s cool to lead the league in threes made,” Thompson said. “It’s something I never did before. Just a testament to my hard work over the last few years. Some dark times that turned into some beautiful moments. I usually am right about the things I say. People might not want to give me credit, but it'll usually come true.”
Thompson delivered that last line with a big smile on his face but didn’t offer up any specifics.
“What am I referencing?” Thompson said. “Nothing in general, just in life, you know? I’m just speaking facts.”
You have to think back to early October, when Klay got off to a slow start this year. Klay admittedly was “hurt” by criticism from Charles Barkley, who claimed Thompson was “not the same guy” he was before his ACL and Achilles injuries.
“I got one thing to say,” Klay said, unprompted after a game on Oct. 27. “It hurts when someone like Charles Barkley, with the platform he has, says you’re not the same player prior to the injuries you had. It’s like, ‘Come on, man. No duh, man.’ Consecutive years, I tore my ACL and my Achilles in consecutive years and still help a team win a championship? I mean, that hurt hearing that, because I put so much freakin' effort to get back to this point. It’s hard to even put into words what I had to do to be the player I am today.”
Since then, Klay has taken a break from social media and cleared his head. It’s allowed him to play some of the best basketball of his career. Klay’s 21.9 points per game this season were his highest average since the 2016-17 season (22.3) and his 4.4 3-pointers per game shattered his previous personal best. Klay might not have the energy to play defense at his prior levels for a whole game, but Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga and Gary Payton II are huge helps in this regard.
He’s over the injuries. He can play in back-to-backs. He’s setting new marks for 3-point prowess. Klay is playing like a man on a mission this season.
The playoffs are where Klay often shines the brightest. Judging from his reaction on Monday, he still has plenty to prove to his doubters in 2023.
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