SAN FRANCISCO — This was going to be no ordinary night, because Klay Thompson was no ordinary player, not with these Golden State Warriors.
He pounded his hand over his heart more than a few times, probably to calm himself following a tribute video and standing ovation that chronicled his run with the franchise — the championships, the moments, the playful exuberance that was the lifeblood of a dynasty.
Before that Thompson was greeted by some 400 team and arena employees upon entering Chase Center in his return to the Bay Area, wearing “Captain Klay” boat hats that paid tribute to the shooting guard often taking the scenic route to games on his boat.
“It was really cool, very grateful for the employees to give me that kind of love,” Thompson said. “Totally unexpected and definitely put a smile on my face and something I’ll never forget. Kudos to the organization.”
Knowing Thompson as the world has become accustomed to, it was expected he would struggle with the bubbling emotions he tried so hard to deny. But it was his partners in history who had to use some mind tricks to get themselves in the right frame of mind before competition ensued.
Draymond Green watched the video earlier in the day, so he could get the raw feelings out of his system. Stephen Curry went to the tunnel, only catching portions of those moments etched in the minds of those who’ve witnessed the most unexpected dynasty in NBA history.
The newest Dallas Maverick had no such fortune and seemed genuinely moved by everything ceremonial from the franchise. Even though the last couple of years had been a slog, and the business of basketball soured the relationship temporarily, feelings subside — at some point.
It was more than the wins. So much had been packed into those 13 years — the Game 6 Klay, the ornery Klay, the player who’s prime was chopped significantly by two debilitating injuries in succession — that it could be overwhelming.
Hence why Green saying he “had zero emotions towards Klay’s return” could only be said because of the methods he took earlier in the day and perhaps aided in him terrorizing Dallas’ big men late in Golden State’s 120-117 win.
When a player is going through marital strife with a franchise, it’s impossible to maintain perspective — especially when money and playing time is involved. But with some distance, everyone can realize exactly what Thompson and the Warriors went through together, beyond the numbers and the feelings of business.
The plan for Curry to address Thompson in front of the crowd was scrapped by both in a text message exchange Monday evening, because both wanted to keep the focus on the court, and the Chase Center crowd needed no such prompt to appreciate Thompson in this moment — not even from the Greatest Shooter Ever.
“It’s not about me, it’s about what he meant to the Bay Area, our franchise,” Curry said. “I think it was really well done from the organization standpoint. The fans did their thing, and me and Draymond got to be a part of it.”
But the business of competition beckoned at the very first possession, an emotionally charged contest. Thompson was posting up Curry — pure competition in a way we weren’t able to see with other players synonymous with each other.
“I’m surprised they ran a post-up for him on the first play,” Curry said. “I blacked out on that one, I wasn’t going to let him score and I fouled him. I thought I was in training camp again where I was trying to get a stop.”
Magic Johnson never went at Byron Scott, Isiah Thomas never tried to cross over Joe Dumars, Manu Ginobili never put his Eurostep on Tony Parker. But yet, there was Thompson doing the Curry shimmy — a “terrible” imitation, all agreed on later — after hitting a 3 in the second quarter.
“It was an impromptu thing,” Thompson said of the shimmy that lacked rhythm. “But when you’re feeling it, you do stuff instinctually. So, done it before. I know Steph’s done it many times. It was fun, playful thing to do, and he was kind of surprised I did it, but a great shot. Probably (will) still do it in the future. I played my best brand of ball when I’m playing loose.”
Curry, upon hitting his first triple with Thompson lunging as a help defender, pointed at him on his way downcourt.
“There’s a lot of history, so you’re going to have a lot of back and forth,” Curry said. “Some of it was competitive, some of it was fun. Thankfully, we were able to focus on the game and just hoop and compete.”
Thompson hit more than a few of his signature triples — six to be exact — scoring 22 points with four rebounds and three assists. Curry owned the evening with his usual heroics, scoring a season-high 37 with nine assists and six rebounds, hitting five triples in leading the Warriors to their come-from-behind win.
It felt surreal throughout the night, so much so it obscured a fantastic basketball game played on the opening night of Year 2 of the NBA Cup. Neither Curry nor Thompson could look at each other while going through individual warm-ups.
And with the extra chatter and emotion throughout the game, you wondered if it was more than friendly competition, that it was some heat between teammates that simmered beneath the surface.
“When you play against somebody you’re close with, you want to beat them even more,” Green said. “You want to play well against them even more. And it just raises that level of competition. You wanna do great things.”
But it was two of the league’s fiercest competitors going at each other because that’s what happens when two players want it really bad — it’s palpable but not personal. Curry was extra emotional, particularly after his 12-0 flurry shut off the lights and gave the Warriors a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
He couldn’t recall what was said, but something along the lines of “this is my house” was bellowed into the TNT cameras when he polished off a 23-point second half.
“Yeah, it hurts to be on the other side of one of his flurries,” Thompson said. “Guy got hot at the end and made some ridiculous shots, and I’ve been on the other end, and it sucks.”
He’d heard all the familiar sounds, from the familiar people — the organ accompanying the “defense” chant, the “Let’s go Warriors!” roar from the Bay Area faithful, the calls from Steve Kerr and the barking from Green.
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Except they weren’t made to buoy him. He was the enemy — a friendly one, not a mortal one.
He left via free agency, but he didn’t defect from the Bay. Thompson didn’t leave as a betrayal, and unlike today’s free agency, the hard feelings seemed to be more with the player than the franchise — almost as if he would have to handle this entire saga on his own.
Yes, Kyrie Irving and head coach Jason Kidd have been in similar places, but nowhere near the exact spot Thompson sat in. The trio of Thompson, Curry and Green was supposed to ride off into the sunset, presumably retiring together.
But Thompson was the first one to leave, the first to feel rejected by the franchise. Every banner in Chase Center, every title won in Oakland, has Thompson’s blood on it as much as Curry’s and Green’s, a point they both readily admit.
The prideful Thompson doesn’t seem anywhere near the point of peacefulness, but perhaps this was a step toward acceptance. The Warriors, for the moment, sit atop the Western Conference while the Mavericks have struggled, coming into the season with real championship aspirations.
In a league where superstars change addresses so much, it’s hard to pin them down to retirement homes that’ll house their jerseys in the rafters, like Chris Paul and Paul George, for example.
Thompson is a Warrior.
Perhaps not at the transcendent level, but denying his value to the Warriors is foolish, and he’ll receive his day — and as custom in today’s culture, a statue outside Chase Center one day.
“Down the road when all is said and done, and we all come back for ceremonies and reveals, it’ll be more of an opportunity to truly reflect,” Curry said. “This game helped because you can just understand what it feels like to really see him on a different team and come back to the place that he called home for so long.”
Thompson got loose to start the fourth, and it looked like he would get some measure of revenge before Curry worked his magic. One can be sure, while at times Thompson could acknowledge Curry was the best shooter of all time, he could still rightfully feel like he was better.
And on this night, he was, at times.
Just not all the time.
So when he walked off the floor to the adorning crowd waiting on his daps and hugs to conclude with his former team, they saluted him one more time. And once more, before disappearing into the bowels of the arena, Thompson looked back at what he left — or what left him.