SAN FRANCISCO — At 4:19 p.m., Klay Thompson walked into the Chase Heart along with his teammates and bumped into to about 400 Warriors staff forming a tunnel and donning captain’s hats.
Thompson had downplayed the importance of this night time, saying his first recreation towards the group he spent the primary 13 years of his profession with was simply one other recreation. However at that second, it hit him as cameras flashed in his face. He put his arms collectively as an indication of gratitude.
“To be one who hangs four banners and does it in a way that captures the hearts of the fans,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr stated pregame. “It’s not just the skill with Klay, it’s not just the commitment to the organization, the competitive desire. There’s just something, there’s an aura about him that connected our fans to him right away. That’s what it takes. That’s pretty rare, for someone to do all of that and have that kind of impact Klay had.”
Roughly three hours later, the actual festivities started.
A sold-out Chase Heart crowd, all sporting white captain’s hats, erupted when the Warriors’ public tackle announcer declared Thompson again. They saluted their caps after a 45-second video montage performed, ending with a “Thank You, Klay” message. Each the Warriors and Mavericks gamers and coaches craned their necks to observe the tribute.
When it ended, Thompson, the four-time champion and Bay Space legend, felt the love. Warriors followers gave a raucous standing ovation for not less than a minute.
By no means one to cover his feelings, Thompson took a second to himself within the far nook of the Chase Heart court docket. He clapped his arms over his head to thank the gang and threw up a left-handed fist pump.
Steph Curry had deliberate to take the microphone and tackle the gang, however he and Thompson talked about it Monday night time and determined it wouldn’t be essential.
Thompson has been on the middle of a number of emotional nights in Warriors historical past. Maybe most memorably, when he returned to the court docket in 2022 after accidents pressured him to overlook 941 days.
“That was a welcome back,” Kerr stated. “We knew there were a lot of good times ahead. In fact, there was a championship six months later. This one is obviously more of a goodbye. The first time we’ll have seen him…It’ll feel very strange, but it will be a different vibe, I think. More of a thank you and a goodbye.”
Andre Iguodala, Festus Ezeli and Zaza Pachulia had been amongst former Thompson teammates in attendance to say goodbye. They had been a few of greater than 18,000 individuals within the constructing to bathe Thompson with appreciation.
Thompson left the Warriors over the summer season to hunt a recent begin with the Mavericks, who received the West final 12 months. Regardless that he carried out nicely for the Warriors after coming back from his career-threatening accidents — serving to win the 2022 title and main the league in 3s the subsequent 12 months — Thompson wasn’t the identical participant as he was earlier than his Achilles and ACL accidents and needed to mentally cope with that.
He needed to grapple along with his basketball mortality, Kerr stated a number of occasions final season. The Warriors moved him to the bench for stretches final 12 months and didn’t assure him a beginning spot if he selected to return.
“What he overcame is almost unprecedented,” Kerr stated. “Being out for two years in the prime of his career was devastating for him. I think the last couple of years after he came back, he struggled reconciling all that. Losing those prime seasons. We all saw that. We saw him struggle with it emotionally. We saw him fight to get his game back.”
“We wished that this had gone forever, that Klay would finish his career with us,” Kerr added. “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 he needed a new set of surroundings. That was apparent last year. He was not happy, and that was hard to see. Because he deserves to be happy. At his core, he’s a very happy person, so it was tough to see him struggle with the repercussions of those injuries.”
He certain appeared blissful on the reception. He obtained what everybody wished.
Then on the primary possession of the sport, he went proper at Curry within the mid-post, drawing two foul pictures. Shortly after, Curry nailed a 3-pointer over Thompson’s late contest. Then Inexperienced nailed a nook 3 over his former teammate. Sport on.
Initially Printed: November 12, 2024 at 7:27 PM PST
