Klay Thompson learned a valuable lesson this week about not leaving Stephen Curry on the books.
Former teammate and current Warriors star Draymond Green said Curry used Michael Jordan's playbook when Thompson “ghosted” him ahead of the Warriors' long-awaited return to the Bay Area in the Warriors' 1120-117 win on Tuesday. He revealed that he personally received a page excerpt from the book.
After putting Golden State behind by four points, Curry ran to the other side of the court, held his jersey and posed for the camera, seemingly yelling, “I'd rather be here.”
“So, finally (Tuesday) morning, I texted Steph and said, 'Hey, listen, big dog, I want you locked up. Whatever needs to be done, it's this tribute. I said, 'If you watch the video, I'm going to do the same thing,''' Green said on “The Draymond Green Show” on Wednesday. “So by the time Steph came to the game (Tuesday) night, he was pissed.
“As soon as I sent him an email, he called. So I stirred the pot a little bit. So Steph was supposed to speak before the game, so I called Steph. He likes to say, “Oh, I called (Warriors senior vice president of communications) Raymond (Ridder) and told him I wasn't talking to him.'' I don't even talk because I just want to focus on the game. And I told Clay about it. When he tries to talk to Clay about something, Clay ghosts him and he gets mad and that's it. ”
Tuesday was an emotional night for the Warriors and for Thompson, a guard who returned to action for the first time against an opponent after spending the first 13 years of his career with the franchise.
Thompson and Curry formed the iconic “Splash Brothers” duo, winning the last four championships with Green and helping form one of the NBA's great dynasties.
But all good things must come to an end, and after a frustrating 2023-24 season, Thompson signed a three-year, $50 million contract with reigning Western Conference champion Golden State.
As Green noted, Curry was scheduled to speak before the game, but he and Thompson canceled it.
Both Curry and Thompson had results, but Curry had the better night both individually and as part of the team, scoring 37 points compared to Thompson's 22 points.
Curry was dominant late in the game, giving the Warriors a 118-114 lead with 27.1 seconds left before scoring Golden State's final 12 points to spark a comeback and provide a memorable moment.
The two-time MVP appeared to demonstrate his loyalty as he posed for the cameras and hugged Thompson's jersey as she left the field.
“So at the end of the game — oh,” Green said while watching a clip of Curry's dagger 3-pointer. The night couldn't have been more wonderful. As people say on Twitter and Instagram, when talking about NBA screenwriters.
“Klay Thompson played great. Unbelievable. And they lost. That's how we had to spend the night.”
The Warriors are doing well without Thompson, sitting in second place in the Western Conference with a 9-2 record, but the Mavericks have dominated with a 5-6 start.
The teams will next meet in Dallas on February 12th before returning to Chase Center on February 23rd to face Thompson.
