The NBA Cup tips off with one of the most highly anticipated games of the season Tuesday night when Klay Thompson returns to San Francisco with the Dallas Mavericks to face his old pals, the Golden State Warriors.
The 34-year-old Thompson, a first-round pick by the Warriors in 2011, elected to leave Golden State in a sign-and-trade over the summer, ending a 13-year run that included two missed seasons because of Achilles and knee injuries.
The four-time champion and five-time All-Star is averaging 13.8 points in his first 10 games for the Mavericks after averaging 17.9 points for the Warriors last season.
Thompson departed Golden State ranked second to Stephen Curry on the franchise all-time list for career 3-pointers (2,481), while also sitting fourth in games (793), sixth in points (15,531) and ninth in steals (676).
The homecoming comes as part of the second edition of the NBA Cup, an in-season tournament that was drawn with the Mavericks and Warriors in the same five-team pool with the Memphis Grizzlies, New Orleans Pelicans and Denver Nuggets.
Thompson attempted to downplay his return by citing excitement for the NBA Cup, in which he and the Warriors went 2-2 last season.
“It’ll be good to see people you grinded with,” he said over the weekend. “But to me, it’s just another regular-season game in November. Obviously, there are bigger implications with the NBA Cup, so what’s on my mind is to win that because I haven’t been a part of it yet. I know it’s young, but it’d be fun to play for that title.”
Thompson’s departure from the Warriors came as part of a six-team trade in which the Warriors acquired, among others, Buddy Hield from the Philadelphia 76ers.
Hield has more than made up for the loss of Thompson, ranking among the NBA leaders in 3-pointers (40) and 3-point field goal percentage (48.8). Thompson has made 29 treys at a 35.4 percent clip for the Mavericks.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said there are no hard feelings about Thompson leaving.
“Sometimes a fresh start can be healthy,” he said. “Everybody’s life and career arc is different. I think Klay made the right decision going to Dallas. Just seeing him the last couple of years, I think he needed a fresh start.”
The Warriors plan to greet Thompson with a “Salute Captain Klay” interactive experience that will include a pregame video tribute. The Warriors have announced that his No. 31 will be retired when his playing days are over.
Curry applauds the idea of celebrating his “Splash Brother” sooner rather than later.
“We have a game to play, so the focus has to be there,” he said. “But he deserves the celebration and the welcome he’s going to get. It’s a chance to reflect on all the memories we created together.”
Coming off a 4-1 trip that included wins over the Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder, the Warriors take an 8-2 record into a four-day sequence in which they also will host Memphis in an NBA Cup game on Friday.
With Kyrie Irving scoring 43 points, the Mavericks opened a three-game trip with a 122-120 loss at Denver on Sunday. Luka Doncic had 24 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.
–Field Level Media