Klay Thompson Staying Busy in the Offseason

By Yama Hazheer

Stephen Curry isn’t the only Splash Brother having a busy offseason. Klay Thompson has had a lot on his plate as well.

-== 8 Moves That Paved Way for Warriors’ NBA Title ==-

I had a moment to talk to Thompson at a recent Body Armor event at Jamtown in Oakland. There, he had a three-point shootout with five lucky people who won a contest.

Despite one heroic effort from a fan, Thompson was easily able to win the contest (surprise, surprise) and he had a great time with everyone involved. There were several kids in attendance with their parents and Franco Finn kept them hyped on the microphone throughout the night.

Klay isn’t the most vocal player on the Warriors, but he’s never one to duck helping others out. The event was beneficial for everyone there and the kids loved seeing the All-Star in person. He also had a lengthy question and answer period for the parents and their kids after he was done playing.
Thompson was honored in the Bahamas with his father, Mychal and his brother, Mychel, Klay’s partnership with Body Armor and Anta continue to grow, he went to a Chicago White Sox game to see his younger brother make his MLB Debut, he’s participated in the Drew League, and now has an invite to play for Team USA once again.

“Just going to USA and being around the best players in the world, practice with them everyday it’s gotten me better every summer,” Thompson said. “I look at it as a privilege and I can’t wait to get out there, especially with my teammates.”

Mr. 37 point quarter has also been working on his golf game this offseason as he’s hung out with Curry and Andre Iguodala on the course.

Like the other Warriors, the loss of David Lee hurt Thompson.

“David was the veteran when I first got here. He’ll be a great friend for life,” Thompson said.

Thompson also embraced Ognjen Kuzmic. He noted that Kuzmic knew limited English when he joined the Warriors, and now has become one of their close friends. He won’t be on the roster next season. 

Justin Holiday signed to play with the Atlanta Hawks. Thompson was one of his closest friends on the team, if not the closest. The two played basketball together when they were younger, but always against each other.

Being on the same team and winning the title was a special moment for the two young guards.

But Thompson’s game will continue to grow, no matter who is by his side.

“Staying consistent, obviously trying to get to the free throw line more. I did a better job of it last year but I still got the ability to improve my pump fake and get there,” Thompson said.

He shot 185 free throws in the 2013-14 season and was able to get it up to nearly 300 last year. He shot 256. If Thompson is able to master the pump fake and ability to get to the line like some of the best shooting guards the league has seen, the Warriors offense would flourish even more.

Complacency is a huge flaw for championship teams. Thompson doesn’t worry that it will hurt the Warriors.

“We just gotta remember how good it felt to get there,” Thompson said.

However, there are many more factors that comes to repeating. Other teams in the league have also gotten better and the Warriors understand that they have a target on their backs.

The San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers have both improved their roster. The Oklahoma City Thunder are also expected to be healthy. James Harden is still in the Western Confrence and the Memphis Grizzlies are always a tough out. A guy by the name of Anthony Davis is pretty damn good too.

Thompson knows the Warriors are up for the challenge.

“Obviously you gotta stay healthy, every team has gotta go through that. We have a team built for that. When one of the guys goes down, we have someone who can take care of it. We’re the deepest team in the league.”

The depth proved to be vital in the 2015 NBA Finals. If the Warriors continue to progress the way they have these past few seasons, Thompson, Curry and the rest of the team could be making another appearance.