PHOENIX — It’s rare to see Klay Thompson so angry. But he was more hot than a cup from Starbucks. Barking loud at Devin Booker. Pacing with a Player’s Ball strut, as he does when he’s hyped.
Before long, Thompson was in Booker’s face. Then came the shoving SunsForward Mikal BridgesHis teammates kept an eye on him. His teammates then held him back, mainly Stephen CurryChris DeMarco as assistant coach. Next, he yells magic words to Ed Malloy, prompting the first ejection of Thompson’s career. It took 796 games, playoffs included.
As Thompson left the court Tuesday night at Footprint Center, in the third quarter of what became a 134-105 Warriors’ loss to Phoenix, he hurled more barbs toward the home bench. He pointed to his left hand and said, “Four championship rings are to floss.” Four more than the entire Suns’ organization was surely the point.
“Four rings,” Booker said after the game, sharing what Thompson kept saying. “He repeated it over and over.”
But this wasn’t about Booker. Not entirely. Booker, on this night, was but the lead singer of a chorus that’s been harmonizing about Thompson’s demise for years now. Many claim his greatest days are over. Thompson will refute this notion.
There is something beneath all the chaos in the Warriors’ second regular-season loss in four games is the lingering internal battle Thompson is waging. This is a reminder his journey isn’t over.
After missing two seasons, he was able to return to action. Yes, he won a second title and was a key piece in his first season back. Yes, he was able to enjoy an offseason without any rehabilitation. The road to reclaim his game and the fear that his name brought is winding and difficult.
Tuesday was a window into why this can be grueling, and why it’s still arguably the challenge of his career. Thompson scored two points while shooting 1-for-8, and missed all five of his attempts at 3-pointers, which was another poor offensive performance. He’s still on a minutes restriction, which must feel like an ankle monitor for a player, a man, who relishes his freedom. So when he got into a verbal spar with the Suns’ superstar, Thompson was triggered.
“He and Book have gotten into it a little bit over the years,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “I remember four or five years ago when Book was first coming up. Klay was at his peak and they had a one-night stand in Oracle. There were no ejections, but they are both competitive and they are guarding each other.”
Thompson’s history with Booker suggests that he came to this game wanting to win and not be outmatched by Booker. But No. 11 isn’t in full control of those powers. He’s still working his way back. He’s still scaling the statue of his personal legend. Still determined to prove that his conviction was true.
Klay Alexander Thompson is his first name. Killa Klay. Lord of Game Sixes. The Spirit of a Dynasty. Deliverer of Postseason Miracles. Possessor of The Four Rings.
“Four rings. He repeated it over and over.”
Oh, he longs to summon this player. There is nothing sweeter than hearing the net splashing. But part of the frustration that boiled over in rare fashion Tuesday is he can’t summon him right now, try as he might.
After Thompson was ejected, the Warriors collapsed. The visitors managed only 20 points in quarter three. Thompson was ejected. They had been rolling in the first half, making 51 percent of their shots and staying within arms reach of a Phoenix squad they couldn’t defend. The Warriors were able to cool down and it was over. And Thompson couldn’t save them.
“I’m such a perfectionist,” he said at shootaround before the game. “I want to be great right now. But, like, I realized, man it’s a long season and I’d rather peak come playoff time versus, you know, early November or January.”
Layup fast for break Draymond greenThe Phoenix lead was slashed to 79-76, with 8:44 left on the third. About a minute later, Thompson stripped Booker as he rose for a step-back 3-pointer, the kind of stellar defensive play that fuels Thompson’s conviction. The jawing began between them. The flame thrower is usually what follows. Thompson was unable to catch the 22-footer after he curved off the screen. Although his outside shot was still cold, Thompson was hot and happy. He was removed at 6:31.
After exchanging words and remarking with Devin Booker, Klay Thompson was removed from the game👀
Thompson is Thompson’s first career expulsion.
🎥 @BleacherReportpic.twitter.com/AOzKKnBias
— The Athletic NBA (@TheAthleticNBA) October 26, 2022
The Warriors’ deficit was six just at the time. The Suns ran off an 11-0 run, building a double-digit cushion the Warriors couldn’t whittle down, and the game was over. The defending champions are fine with this. If four titles and six NBA Finals appearances in eight years has taught them anything, it’s that the Larry O’Brien Trophy isn’t won in October. They weren’t sweating this loss at Phoenix. Getting trounced, hearing the Suns chirping, did nothing to temper Golden State’s confidence. Like last season, the Warriors believe they will eventually reach their goals. Because they believe Thompson will get there, that is part of the reason.
He just isn’t there yet. And as long as he’s not there, it leaves room for the wondering and worrying about whether he will get there. After all, he is 32 years of age with two serious injuries that have taken away his valuable prime years. Doubt would be normal. To be able to resist something so natural, you need to have enough confidence and defiance to believe that it is possible.
“I have 100 percent, unconditional confidence in him,” Curry said. “But to get there, nobody can really understand what he’s been through, even on top of a championship situation. All the mental hurdles that you need to overcome. It’s something you can respect, because again, no one can imagine that time period. You just need to put him in the right environment for a consistent time, and that stuff will usually come out. Because he’s a winner. So, that’s my confidence from start to finish with him. No difference this year.”
Thompson would find this part easier if tribulation makes him patient. The pain of returning from a torn Achilles followed by a torn Achilles is enough to make this momentary anguish bearable. But patience is virtuous because it’s not so easily mastered.
In an interview, he stated that sometimes he would get so mad within himself.
“I want to apologize to anyone who was around me in those 24 months,” Thompson said during the preseason interview. “Because I was an angry person for a while. I was mad at everything in the world. I was mad at the world, and I quickly blew my fuse about small stuff. I didn’t know how to channel it.”
He learned to give Klay Thompson some grace. He reminded himself what he’d just gone through, and overcame, was real. He felt that returning to his passion after 941 days was an incredible feat. He earned grace as the All-Star he believes still lives within him.
These will require more patience. You will need to have more patience. More faith. Imagine being able to summon all the mental toughness needed to overcome 941 obstacles, but then finding yourself needing even more mental toughness. Because the obstacles keep coming. It is frustrating. Thompson’s strategy is to counter the frustration with appreciation and trust. He finds those sweet mental spots of gratefulness by boating. The water inspires it.
Thompson also learned a technique from the book “The Untethered Soul” for those times he finds himself off-center. He takes deep breaths and tells himself the exact same phrase five times.
Hello.
Hello.
Hello.
Hello.
Hello.
“Whatever bad thoughts and feelings I’m having,” Thompson explained, “it’ll distract me from that and kind of re-center me and allow me to take it all in and be present with the moment. When you come back from injury, there is no way to second-guess your self. You have to believe you are who you’ve always been.”
Thompson said he’s also on social media far less, swapping the smartphone for books more often. During his two years of being out, Thompson spent a lot time on social media. And perhaps too much time listening to people’s commentary on his game.
He heard the whole thing. Concerning his defense’s decline during his first half of his return. Concerning his 3-point shooting efficiency. Oh, and he can’t stand when people ask him if he’ll return to the old Klay. It’s irritating. There is no Old Klay. There is no New Klay. There is only Klay. The one that he and his colleagues know intimately. The one whom others seem to have forgotten. His essence hasn’t changed. His talent, his love for the big moments, his maniacal obsession with the winning, hasn’t been altered by his injuries. He is who he’s always been. He must believe that. That’s what he’s determined to show you. Show us in the media. Show Booker and all other players with nerves. Show it to everyone.
Show him.
“Klay cares so much about the game, about his impact on our team,” Kerr said after the loss. “He wants it so badly, and he’s trying to force everything right now. He’s just trying too hard, but he’s done that many times even before the injuries.”
Kerr said he plans to remind Thompson that slow starts shooting aren’t uncommon for him, and he always finds his way. He was 3-for-28 behind the arc in 2016-17. He completed the year at 41.4% from 3. He went 5-for-36 in 2018-19. He then made 14 of 24, in Chicago, setting a regular-season record for 3s per game. Last season, he was 24-for-73 over his first 10 games — 32.9 percent and well below his standard. He finished the regular season at 38.5 percent, which is a career low. However, he made 77 playoff threes, his second most in one postseason.
So far this season, he’s 8-for-28 from deep. He is a skilled player who can make smart passes, play defense and take care of the little details. Thompson is also a great shooter. It’s who he is. He can’t be fully himself until that part of him is up to his standards.
He believed that the title was the end of his journey. He presumed the struggle washed off in the Moët shower in Boston last June. It wasn’t. It wasn’t. He remains in the crucible and leans on his legendary resolve. He remembers that he was a good player last season. Even when his shot wasn’t falling, his defense increasingly improved.
“I learned that it takes a lot to knock me down,” Thompson said. “Whether it’s the injuries, the shooting slumps, the lessened athleticism. I’m still gonna get out there and I’m still gonna make an impact on a championship-level team. So I’m very proud of myself for what I accomplished. However, I want more. I still want more. And I don’t want to use my past injury experiences as a crutch into where I need to go. Although I may not be able to get me from point A and point B as quickly as I used to, I can still do the same. But, shoot, I can still make shots and get stops like the best of them.”
He put his trust in Rick Celebrini, the Warriors’ director of sports medicine and performance, before. Before, he relied on his hard work ethic and stubbornness. He was able to get through the shooting slumps, dark nights and nagging doubts. He can get through this. He’s sure of it.
That doesn’t mean it isn’t hard.
Until he gets back there, until he’s shooting it like one of the all-time greats and defending at a high level, until he’s snatching hope from opponents in the playoffs and saving the Warriors from despair, until he’s again creating epic moments, he’ll have to find more patience and cleave to the confidence of past glory. And when people start talking like he isn’t Klay Thompson anymore, he’s fully ready to remind them of his bedazzled hand.
“Four rings. He repeated it over and over.”
(Photo: Mark J. Rebilas / USA Today)
