Klay Thompson knows he’s no longer the player that he once was. The Golden State Warriors shooting guard felt that reality to a greater extent when he was benched late Monday against the Brooklyn Nets.
The Warriors outlasted the Nets 109-98 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. Thompson started the fourth quarter, but Warriors head coach Steve Kerr kept the All-Star out for the final 7:19 of the contest in favor of 21-year-old rookie Gui Santos.
After the game, The Athletic’s Anthony Slater asked Thompson how he was feeling and whether there was an adjustment period given his reduced role lately. Thompson responded that he felt great physically, but the mental toll admittedly hasn’t been easy to overcome.
“I feel great, physically. Mentally, probably a little different story,” admitted Thompson. “But such is life, you know? … Yeah, you kidding me? To go from one of the best players … It’s hard for anybody. I’ll be honest with you.”
Klay Thompson said it’s hard to not close: “Yeah, you kidding me? To go from one of the best players…It’s hard for anybody.”
Klay credited the young guys.
Draymond from off camera (to reporters): “I didn’t close Game 5 of the Finals. Who the f*** cares?” pic.twitter.com/CzYNX4vulw
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) February 6, 2024
Thompson started on Monday and played 30 minutes in the contest. He finished with just 8 points on 4/9 shooting from the field to go along with 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals.
Santos, an active 6’8″ forward from Brazil, tallied 9 points and 5 rebounds across 18 minutes of action.
Kerr has been experimenting with different closing lineups of late in an attempt to find a unit that works best around Steph Curry. Some of those lineups have kept Thompson on the sidelines during critical crunch-time moments.
Thompson entered Monday’s contest averaging 17.3 points, which still ranks second on the Warriors this season. But he’s shooting career lows from the field (41.5%) and the three-point line (37.4%).
