The Golden State Warriors are all Klay Thompson has ever known as an NBA player. Since being drafted in 2011, he’s won four NBA Championships with the Warriors, made five All-Star appearances, two All-NBA teams, and an All-Defensive team. Now, he is facing the reality that this could be his last season with the Warriors and it could be impacting his play on the court.
Per ESPN’s Kendra Andrews, Thompson’s contract negotiations with the Warriors are ‘weighing’ on him to the point that it is hindering his performance on the court. “He appears to be noticeably more frustrated during games. He sometimes sits on the end of the bench by himself during timeouts, or slaps his head after taking a bad shot,” Andrews said.
Thompson has solidified his status as one of the greatest three-point shooters of all time and has always played with supreme confidence, so hearing Andrews mention that Thompson is kicking himself over missed shots is noteworthy given the circumstances surrounding his contract.
Before the season, it was reported by The Athletic that Thompson and the Warriors reached a “dead point” in contract negotiations, with both the length of the deal and the salary being an issue.
Unfortunately, Thompson has gotten off to a slow start to the season and is seemingly only hurting his contract value with how he’s played. Through 17 games, Thompson is averaging 15.3 points per game to go with 3.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists while shooting 40.4 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from beyond the arc.
