Klay Thompson turns to Youtube in hopes of breaking Finals slump

Klay Thompson’s shot hasn’t been up to his championship standard in the first two games of the NBA Finals. But he might have a modern solution to the issue of a shooting slump. Over six straight playoff runs, Thompson has developed a funk-breaking trick that he hopes will work for Game 3: The Warriors guard pulls up Youtube, searches for his own highlight clips and learns a thing or two from his past self.

“That’s the beauty of playing in today’s age,”thompson said.“you can go on Youtube and look up all your great moments.”

It’s become routine for Thompson amid some bad slumps, before and after his two-year absence thanks to two major injuries. He watched highlights of himself earlier in the playoffs to get his shot going. After going 1-for-8 from 3 in a Game 2 win over Boston on Sunday — shooting collective 4-for-14 from distance in the first two games — Thompson went home, searched “Game 6 Klay”highlights, and put himself back in that mindset.

“There were some very highpressurized situations I was in,” Thompson said. “I ended up shooting the ball well. When you can do it when your back is against the wall, you can do it at any given moment. It’s just about keeping that mental strong.”

Thompson has shot a career 49.5% from 3 and 44% from the field in three career Finals Game 6s. His stronger shooting nights in these playoffs have come later in each series, with the pressure on. But sizzling scoring nights are few and far between. Thompson played through a garbage-time fourth quarter in the Game 2 win to find some rhythm, but he’s 10for-33 overall in two games.