Klay Thompson either derived pleasure from transitioning to the bench, or interpreted it as a personal matter.
On Thursday, the head coach of the Golden State Warriors, Steve Kerr, made the decision to substitute the four-time NBA champion and five-time All-Star with youngster Brandin Podziemski, marking the first time since his rookie season that he came off the bench. Thompson’s streak of 727 consecutive games started was broken by the move, which came after he made a critical mistake in the Warriors’ previous game.
The relocation was both unexpected and anticipated for a considerable period. Among the players on the Warriors, none has demonstrated their advancing years this season more prominently than Thompson, who, at the age of 34, has been averaging 17.0 points per game (his lowest average since 2012-13). Additionally, he has been recording his poorest shooting percentages from the field (41.5%) and from beyond the arc (36.8%) in his entire career.
It may have been a challenging moment for a highly regarded player. Contrarily, he retaliated with his most exceptional performance of the season.
Thompson achieved his highest score of the season, scoring 35 points by making 13 out of 22 shots, without committing any turnovers or personal fouls. In addition, he achieved a career milestone by surpassing the 15,000-point threshold.
If Thompson had any reservations about being benched, he did not display them during halftime while conversing with NBC Sports Bay Area. He attributed his “refreshed stamina” to his new role. Similarly, after the game, he offered some insight, as reported by Shayna Rubin of the Mercury News:
“Furthermore, I have come to the realisation that I will be allocated a significant amount of playing time.” It is necessary to suppress one’s ego when considering the possibility of being a substitute player. I considered Manu Ginobili, who has achieved four championship rings and a gold medal, while consistently serving as a substitute throughout his whole career.
Thompson will now have the opportunity to recuperate during the All-Star break, as the Warriors’ next game against the Los Angeles Lakers is slated for February 22nd. According to Kerr’s statement to media after the game, it seems that Thompson will continue to be a substitute player for the upcoming game. However, Kerr also mentioned that this decision is not necessarily permanent.
Thompson’s performance on Thursday suggests that he still possesses a considerable amount of skill and ability. However, it is understandable that the Warriors would be interested in assessing the full extent of “Bench Klay’s” capabilities.
