Klay Thompson stepped off the team bus and walked back to Chase Center beaming Tuesday night, greeted by some 400 cheering Warriors employees who lined up along his path to the Dallas locker room to express their love and appreciation for the former Golden State star to show.
They wore “Captain Klay” hats, the giveaway for all fans on a night of celebration commemorating Thompson’s 13 years with the franchise, two of which were injured, and four championships he helped win here.
Those white hats filled Chase Center, which featured video highlights of Thompson in a place where he is still beloved — and always will be. Stephen Curry jogged over to Thompson, who was now wearing No. 31, along with teammate Kyrie Irving at No. 11, and offered him a quick hug before Andrew Wiggins also hugged his old teammate.
Earlier, after a brief jump rope outside the Mavericks’ locker room, Thompson ran out of the tunnel and onto the floor to thunderous applause from Warriors fans with phones raised to capture the moment of Thompson’s return.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Curry had considered addressing the crowd before tip-off, but spoke with Thompson and they all decided to focus on the game, even though Kerr knew it would be something if they had to defend each other.
Who would the Warriors put on Thompson?
“I’m not going to tell you,” Kerr said.
Curry fouled his former Splash Brother 15 seconds into the game and Thompson scored the first two points of the game on free throws. Thompson missed his first two field goal attempts before knocking down a 3-pointer with 1:26 left in the opening quarter.
“I imagine he’ll be exactly the same guy I’ve seen for 10 years, so he’s always aggressive,” Kerr said. “I’m sure he’s going to shoot and none of us would have it any other way.”
The Warriors invited all of their employees to be part of the welcoming committee for Thompson, who joined Dallas in July on a three-year, $50 million contract. The 34-year-old Thompson missed more than 2.5 years – the entire 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons – as he recovered from surgeries on his left knee and right Achilles tendon before making his comeback in January 2022.
“I think what he overcame is almost unprecedented,” Kerr said. “… The last few years after he came back, he struggled to reconcile all that, losing those prime seasons. We all saw that, saw him struggle emotionally with it. We saw him fight to get his game back .He helped us win a championship, led the league in 3s two years ago, he’s done a lot of great things.
“We wish this would have lasted forever, that Klay would have ended his career with us, but circumstances always dictate these things. In the end, I think he made the right choice. I think he needed a fresh start, I think that he was kind of in a new environment and that was clear last year. He wasn’t happy and that was hard to see because he deserves to be happy.
Thompson has tried to downplay the magnitude of his return to the Bay Area, though it was certainly emotional for everyone involved.
“I’ve been doing this for a long time, and basketball is basketball,” he said.
But as the home crowd went wild and tipped their captain’s hats as he was introduced, Thompson became visibly emotional and clearly touched by the tribute. He waved and saluted in different directions.
Dallas coach Jason Kidd called the Mavericks “lucky to get him” and imagined how difficult this could be for Thompson with so many emotions.
“He’s a true professional. Comes to work and understands what it means to win,” Kidd said. “We can talk about his ability to shoot the ball, space and his gravity. We can run him around, he’s going to create space for others. So when you talk about the big picture, that’s hard to find, and we had we didn’t do that, and it was desperately needed.”
Golden State held a “Salute Captain Klay” ceremony before tipoff to pay tribute to Thompson’s contributions to the franchise and his tradition of sailing across the Bay to games. He will be back again in February during the Mavs’ second trip to Chase Center.
“This is all personnel. It’s unbelievable,” Warriors president and COO Brandon Schneider said. “What Klay has meant to our organization and to all of us over the past thirteen years: the team achievements, individual achievements, who he is as a person, what he has done in the community: it is a special evening.”
For Kerr, the moment felt very different from Thompson’s triumphant return almost three years ago, after injuries and the daunting grind of rehab that the veteran guard considered one of the most difficult days of his life.
“That was a welcome return, we knew there were still many good times ahead. Six months later there was even a championship,” said Kerr. “This one is obviously more of a goodbye, the first time we’ll see him. … It’ll feel very strange, but it’ll be a different vibe, more of a thank you and a goodbye and everything you’ve done meant for us.” “
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