The Splash Brothers were like snipers hitting their targets on the basketball court precisely from downtown. The Warriors franchise in the NBA has 7 championships. Two of them were won when the team originated in Philadelphia. From 1962-71, the Warriors used San Francisco as their city name and never won anything until they called themselves Golden State, a team shared by two cities in the bay area. The name change for the Warriors quickly won it all in 1975. The Warriors became irrelevant for many decades until the Splash Brothers resurrected this franchise with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. The Warriors would capture 4 NBA titles with the Splash Brothers at the helm and others giving Golden State a dynasty. Like the Bash Brothers in Oakland back in the late 80’s/early 90’s winning games and knocking the ball out of the park at a record pace. Good things in sports always come to an end as brothers go in different directions after awhile and leave the nest. After 13 seasons, one Splash Brother is moving on. Thompson will be a Maverick for the next three seasons.

Klay Thompson was drafted by the Golden State Warriors 11th overall in the first round of the NBA 2011 draft. Thompson’s career numbers he averages 19.6 points per game, 3.5 rebounds, and dishes out 2.3 assists each contest. His last season in Golden State his average came down to 17.9 points per game. Thompson is one of the best snipers in the game draining the three point shot from wherever beyond the arc. Thompson needs 80 three point shots to pass his childhood hero Reggie Miller which is 5th on the all-time list.

Thompson’s career is well decorated as he is a 5x All-Star, 2x all NBA, 2011-12 all rookie and 2018-19 all defense. Thompson, Stephen Curry and Draymond Green – this trio has won 518 regular season NBA games. This trio has 98 playoff victories together and is 3rd in NBA history with 4 titles with the three Spurs: Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker. Thompson has played in 793 NBA games as he missed two seasons of action due to injuries. In 2019-20, his knee kept him out all year. Then in 2020-21 he ruptured his achilles. You know his number 11 will be retired by the Warriors at some point in the future.

The writing was on the wall for Klay Thompson as he was taken out of the starting line up late in the season last year. Thompson would still get plenty of playing time coming off the bench. The feeling from both parties was it was time for him to move on. Thompson believes he could get a shot at a 5th title with the Dallas Mavericks who were beaten to a bloody pulp by the Celtics in the NBA finals several weeks ago. Thompson will get a 3 year 50 million dollar deal at the age of 34. He will go with a new number as well. Instead of number 11, he will wear number 31 which was Jason Terry’s digits when the Mavericks last won the NBA championship back in 2011. Thompson will team up with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving to form their trio. Irving was a teammate with Thompson on the USA teams. Like always in the NBA, Irving recruited Thompson to Dallas.

I think the Dallas Mavericks will need another piece if they want to win the title next year. Klay Thompson gives you points from downtown which is a nice thing. With his recent injuries a few years back, Thompson is not the same player as he was when he was splashing all those threes. His defense is not the same. The Mavericks had no defense versus the Celtics weeks ago. Kyrie Irving was a complete no-show in the finals. While Luka Doncic was taken to school most of the time in that series. Doncic’s defense showed it’s a glaring weakness on this Mavericks squad. Adding Thompson gets you more points but gives you nothing defensively. I’m glad Thompson did not team up with Lebron James in LA as the Lakers were one of the stops for Klay that he was thinking about. It will be interesting to see how each Splash Brother does without each other. Stephen Curry has played two seasons without his basketball brother. He will be the same player for the Warriors. A new chapter in Thompson’s book with a new city, team, and fan base may do wonders. I like to see him break Reggie Miller’s record in the next few years. Thompson is a guy you root for no matter where he goes. We will take a wait and see approach on this signing. Right now we do know the Mavericks are a better team than the Warriors.