Klay Thompson had message for Grizzlies after win
May 14, 2019; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) stands on the court before the start of the game against the Portland Trail Blazers in game one of the Western conference finals of the 2019 NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
Klay Thompson had a message for the Memphis Grizzlies after getting the win over them on Sunday night.
Thompson’s Golden State Warriors beat the Grizzlies 123-109 on Christmas despite playing without Steph Curry (shoulder) and Andrew Wiggins (groin). That was a big win for the Warriors because of the recent history between the teams.
The Warriors knocked the Grizzlies out of the playoffs last year in a six-game series. Upon winning the championship, Thompson almost immediately rubbed things in on the Grizzlies, who had celebrated a regular-season win over Golden State earlier in the year.
Sunday marked the first matchup of the season between the new rivals. Thompson drew a technical foul for taunting Dillon Brooks during the game.
klay doesn’t gaf lmaoooo pic.twitter.com/0wFTgRgG2x
— Chris Montano (@gswchris) December 26, 2022
Given the intensity of their rivalry, beating Memphis couldn’t have been more pleasing to Thompson. He talked in a postgame interview with Lisa Salters about the message he wanted to send.
"You can't talk dynasty when you haven't won before … I thought that was premature talk."
—Klay after beating the Grizzlies on Christmas pic.twitter.com/mBR1Uq5h7I
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 26, 2022
“Man, they was talking about dynasty and all that,” Thompson said of the Grizzlies. “You can’t talk dynasty when you haven’t won before. I don’t think people realize how hard that is. The commitment and sacrifice it takes. You gotta sacrifice your body. And I thought that was premature talk to even mention that word.”
Thompson did give some credit to the Grizzlies though for being a tough opponent.
“But they bring the best out of us, and I think we do the same. Even though we don’t like them, we gotta respect them, because they’re a threat,” Thompson acknowledged.
The teams still will meet three more times during the regular season. They will face each other in San Francisco next month, and then they will meet in Memphis twice in March. And maybe they will meet in the playoffs for the second season in a row.