Klay Thompson has been an essential part of the Golden State Warriors dynasty. Although he missed two years with injuries, his presence was felt as soon as he returned. The team won the NBA title in 2022, which gave Thompson and company his fourth title. Overall, it was a massive accomplishment that cemented this team as one of the great dynasties of our time. That said, there is still one blip on the Warriors' resume. Of course, we are talking about the 2016 NBA Finals, where the team gave up a 3-1 series lead and lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Recently, Thompson was a guest on Podcast P with Paul George. During this interview, George asked Klay about what happened in 2016. As you can imagine, Thompson and his teammates are still fairly heartbroken about what happened. However, he noted that it was simply an anomaly and it led to better things for the team. In his eyes, without the incident in 2016, the Warriors would never have gotten Kevin Durant.
Klay Thompson Speaks
“Honestly I thought we were good even going back to Oakland [for Game 7]. I remember being like, we don't lose at home. The last time we did it took Kyrie and LeBron going for 40 a piece, the first time in Finals history. So I'm like alright anomalies happen…,” Thompson said. [...] “Why are you making me do this Paul? This hurts man f**k. But I don't know if we don’t win we might not get Kevin [Durant] so like it all worked out but that one hurt. I’m not going to admit when it was slipping away, there's too much pride to do that. It still hurts. You’re welcome city of Cleveland.”
That is certainly one way to look at it. However, despite all of their success in the NBA Finals, fans will never forget how they messed up big time seven years ago. Let us know what you think of Thompson's take on the fiasco, in the comments section below. Additionally, stay tuned to HNHH for more news from around the sports world.