Teammates feel Klay Thompson is the Rodney Dangerfield of defense.
Thompson’s dedication to that part of the game seen as a key to team’s success
OAKLAND>> The apathy seems evident in Klay Thompson’s tone, body language and reluctance to talk.
“No big deal,” Thompson said.
But leave it to Warriors forward Draymond Green to express the sentiment felt among Thompson’s teammates and those around the NBA.
“He doesn’t get enough respect for his defense,” Green told The Bay Area News Group. “But his defense is a key part of what we do.”
What does Thompson do on defense? Notmuch, other than fulfill almost every responsibility imaginable.
“He just chases the ball all day long,”
coach Steve Kerr said. “Klay never gets tired. He guards point guards for us and then he switches onto fourmen. Then he guards the post. Then, he runs around the other end like he’s Reggie Miller. There’s stamina, strength and ability to play on both ends.”
The Warriors argued Thompson’s defense has factored significantly in winning two NBA titles in the past three years. They have not factored strongly enough, though, for Thompson to make an All-NBA Defensive team through his first six seasons.
“That’s some BS,” Boston Celtics guard Kyrie Irving said of Thompson’s omission. “I guess you could say he’s underrated.”
Others say the same thing, including a proud father whose strong opinions on
this topic stem from being a former NBA player who saw his son cement his defensive foundation during childhood.
“It baffles me. Obviously the people who vote just aren’t paying attention,” said Mychal Thompson, a former member of the Los Angeles Lakers’ Showtime teams and an analyst for the Lakers’ flagship radio station. “I am shocked in the last three years that he hasn’t been on one of those teams. I don’t get it. I don’t understand it.”
NBA TV analyst and Hall of Fame point guard Isiah Thomas does, saying, “The players don’t vote.”
“He doesn’t play to the fans and media judges. He plays to the players’ judgment. That’s why we all love him,” Thomas said. “That’s why we all respect him. There isn’t a former player or current player, when we talk about guys who can play defense, where Klay and Kawhi Leonard’s names don’t come up first.”
Thompson spoke pragmatically to The Bay Area News Group about his place among defenders that might explain his exclusion.
“I don’t average the sexy stats. I don’t get a lot of blocks or steals. I’m solid,” said Thompson, who ranks 147th in the league in steals (0.70) and 95th in blocks (0.53). “I’m just known for my shooting and offensive prowess. But on the defensive side of the ball, I haven’t gotten the same recognition, which is fine.” Fine?
“If I do right, I’ll get it in due time,” Thompson said. “It’s no big deal.”
Honing his craft
Those on the Warriors believe that Thompson’s low-key personality partly contributes to his exclusion from All-Defense recognition. They also note that he already assumes a relatively lower profile than his teammates on offense (Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant) and defense (Durant, Green, Andre Iguodala). Thompson conceded those factors have influenced his exclusion “probably a little bit.”
“We think he’s great as coaches, but he’s just not a guy that is going to go out, make waves and promote himself,” assistant coach Ron Adams said. “He has an inner peace to him and an inner calm about him that I think has been very gratifying for me to be a part of. That’s the kind of player I really respect. He lets the game speak for itself.
“Perhaps he doesn’t get the credit he deserves. But that’s a phrase I don’t like to use at this level. Some things are evident. His play is evident to all of us and to any basketball fan who understands the game.”
Do not let Thompson’s apparent apathy fool you, though. AsMychal Thompson said, “He tries to let everything roll off his back, but he would like to be on an All-Defensive team.”
Klay Thompson realized the importance of defense at an early age. When he played at Santa Margarita High in Orange County, Thompson guarded future NBA stars James Harden (Artesia) and DeMar DeRozan (Compton). Thompson credits his high school coach, Jerry DeBusk, for forcing him to work on team defense, rotations and closeouts during practice.
Then during his freshman year at Washington State, Thompson found former coach Tony Bennett to be “the most defensive-minded coach in the country.” Thompson said Bennett spent nearly every practice teaching him more on how to use his length on closeouts, how to rotate off the ball and how to excel in team defensive schemes.
Throughout this time, Mychal Thompson often stressed to Klay about taking defense seriously to diversify his game and to maximize his chances for playing time.
“I had a great foundation,” Klay Thompson said. “I knew how to see the ball and knew how to close out perfectly on both sides of the floor. I knew the basic fundamentals. It’s as simple as it sounds. But it goes a long, long way when you know how to do it the right way.”
That mindset gave Thompson extra currency when theWarriors selected him with the No. 11 pick in the 2011 NBA draft.
“When we drafted Klay Thompson, no one said he was going to be a good twoway player. We drafted him because of his shooting,” said Nuggets coach Mike Malone, a former Warriors assistant (2011-13). “That was the great thing about Klay. He quickly established himself as a guy that wanted to play on both ends of the floor.”
Defensive moments
A normally confident Mychal Thompson recalled feeling “really nervous” leading into a Jan. 6, 2012, Warriors-Lakers game. Klay played against Kobe Bryant, his childhood idol, for the first time as a rookie. Beforehand, Mychal Thompson dreaded what he would see from the broadcast booth.
“Kobe just destroys young players,” Mychal said. “I thought for sure Klay would get baptized against Kobe.”
Indeed, Bryant posted 39 points while shooting 13 of 28 from the field. But most of Thompson’s teammates were assigned to Bryant. Thompson kept asking the Warriors coaching staff if he could guard Bryant whenever possible.
“My biggest lesson I learned from Kobe is not to jump for any pump fakes,” Klay said. “He had a lethal pump fake. He probably got every single person in the NBA with it.”
Despite that insight, Bryant still averaged 28 points in 12 head-to-head matchups against Thompson. Still, Bryant shot only 41.1 percent during those games. Thompson also applied his experience guarding Bryant toward other players with better success.
In the 2013 Western Conference semifinals, Thompson helped hold Spurs guard Tony Parker to inefficient shooting performances in Game 4 (6 of 17) and Game 6 (3 of 16). Durant, then with Oklahoma City, watched on television feeling pleasantly surprised.
“I didn’t know Klay could play defense like that,” Durant said. “After that, I just gained so much respect for him.”
The respect kept growing. Durant has noticed that Thompson had more relative success than most while defending Thunder guard Russell Westbrook. Westbrook has shot 41.1 percent in 22 regular-season head-to-head matchups against Thompson, while going 39.5 percent in seven post season meetings.
“Russ usually had his way against guards that were smaller than him. But you put a 6-foot-5, 6-foot- 6 dude on him, it just made it tougher for him,” Durant said of Thompson. “I’mnot saying Klay is a total lockdown (defender) and closes everything down. That’s hard to do in this league. But he makes it tough on you and he makes you shoot tough shots.”
Thompson’ s listed 6-foot-7, 215-pound frame gives him superior length and strength than most guards he defends. He also has quick hands, efficient footwork and lateral quickness. As one NBA scout said, “Klay is at the right place at the right time. He seems to know what his guy is going to do.”
“It’s been unique to how you have to defend each player,” Thompson said. “You have to study a lot of basketball.”
Many Warriors remember Thompson’s defense on Irving in the 2017 NBA Finals against Cleveland.
“There were games Klay locked himup,” Green said, grinning. “There were games Kyrie got the best of Klay.”
Irving got the best of Thompson leading up to that series. Irving made a turnaround jumper that sealed the 2016 Christmas Day matchup. Thompson had Irving covered tightly, but he showed his resiliancy when the teams met again last June.
In the 2017 NBA Finals, Irving experienced scoring highs — 24 points in Game 1, 38 in Game 3 and 40 in Game 4 — as well as shooting lows — 34.8 percent in Game 2 and 40.9 percent in Game 5. In Game 1, however, Thompson held Irving to 1- of- 6 shooting when he guarded him, while also holding Kevin Love to 0 of 4. Despite Irving’s strong play in Game 3, Thompson held Irving to 2 of 6 in the fourth quarter.
Through it all, the Warriors marveled that Thompson stayed calm through success and adversity.
“You’re not going to stop him for four straight games. It’s just unrealistic,” Thompson said of Irving. “All you can do is frustrate him andmake him work as hard as he possibly can for every bucket. You’re playing a five-, six- or sevengame series. By the time it’s that seventh game, hopefully it will finally wear on him.”
Assistant coach Mike Brown says he only notices Thompson slump his shoulders in frustration when the coaching staff occasionally instructs someone else to guard the opposing team’s best perimeter player.
“He wants to take on the challenge,” Brown said. “Not one time have I ever seen him back away from wanting to take the guy that makes the most plays for our opponent.”
Getting the recognition
Thompson still has plenty of areas he wants to master on defense. He wants to average more steals. He wants to maintain his tendency to avoid fouls (1.7 per game) after averaging more than two per contest his first three seasons. He wants to improve his awareness level on off-ball defense.
The reason? Despite his calm exterior through his successes or failures on defense, Thompson becomes livid internally any time someone scores on him.
“He takes defense personally,” Adams said. “I love him for that.”
The Warriors also love that Thompson does not take it too personally that he has not been recognized for his defensive prowess. Nonetheless, Thompson has an extra source ofmotivation amid his quest to win his third NBA championship.
“People watch the regular season, but people always tune in during the playoffs,” Thompson said. “They want to see what you do on the biggest stage. That’s when I’ll try to bring it. I try to bring it every night. But I really try to lock in for 16 ( playoff) games.”
Then, Thompson stood up and indicated he felt he spoke enough. Once again, he hoped his play would speak louder than his soft words.