Klay Thompson is officially gone from Golden State. The four-time NBA champion joined Dallas Mavericks, the reigning Western Conference Champions, as part of a whopping six-team trade the league announced this weekend.
Thompson’s exit from Golden State signals the end of an exhilarating era of Warriors basketball that began well over a decade ago.
Golden State had one of the most dominant runs in NBA history. The Warriors won four NBA championships from 2015 to 2022 and appeared in five NBA Finals. The only one they lost was in 2016 when they went 73-9 and set the new single-season record for wins in an NBA season.
Thompson and the Warriors warmly said goodbye to each other this weekend with a series of posts.
Then, Golden State head coach Steve Kerr spoke about Thompson this weekend and had nothing but kind things to say.
“Klay is going to have a statue outside Chase someday … he’ll be beloved by his teammates, coaches and our fans forever.”
Steve Kerr offers a touching tribute to Klay Thompson’s legacy in the Bay 🥲 pic.twitter.com/BL42xK66qk
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) July 7, 2024
“The memories endure. Klay’s gonna have a statue outside Chase someday,” Kerr said. “He’ll be beloved by his teammates and coaches and our fans forever. It’s never easy, but it’s all going to work out for him.”
Thompson became an unforgettable piece of the puzzle for Golden State. He was part of the 2015 team that won the franchise’s first title in several decades. A statue is probably pretty likely, and will be a well-deserved honor when it’s etched.
About Chris Novak
Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022