Klay Thompson describes his return to Golden State as ‘surreal’ in Dallas’ loss

In one of the most exciting matchups of the season, the Warriors beat the Mavericks 120 to 117, in an incredibly intense clash that saw Klay Thompson’s return to Chase Center for the first time since he was traded out this past summer. The veteran guard was celebrated with an emotional ceremony before tip-off, as well as some words from his former teammates. 

The new Dallas star played his first contest against the San Francisco club since he entered the NBA in the 2011 NBA Draft, and 13 years in California. Golden State unveiled a tribute video which showed some of his best moments in the Bay Area, and received a standing ovation from a crowd that was wearing captain hats in his honor.

Klay started off hot and dropped in the first two points of the match. By the end, he had scored 22 points in total, including 6 three-pointers. However, this wasn’t enough to stop Stephen Curry’s masterful performance, with 37 points on 14-of-27 shooting that took the Warriors to a 1-0 record in the NBA Cup.

Klay Thompson’s big night ends with his former Splash Brother putting Mavericks to bed https://t.co/3er7Evu5xn

— Dallas Morning News (@dallasnews) November 13, 2024

One of the most exciting moments of the game came during the second quarter, as Thompson hit back-to-back shots from beyond the arc, and celebrated with a gesture that paid homage to Curry. “Klay knows better than that,” Steph joked later, keeping alive their friendly banter.

Once the contest was over, the 34-year-old addressed the media by explaining just how much he enjoyed the whole experience. “It was fun to match up with Steph, guard each other like we did before in the practice, Team USA scrimmages, All-Star games… So, pretty surreal to do it in an NBA game,” he admitted.

Nevertheless, Klay later revealed how difficult it was to explain the feeling of watching Curry drain the net, again and again, as your opponent. He knows more than anyone that when his former teammate is on fire, there is nothing that can stop him.

“It hurts to be on the other side of one of his flurries, he got hot in the end and made some ridiculous shots, you know. Yeah, it sucks right now, but we play them three more times this season, we gotta digest and move forward,” Thompson shared postgame.

The Golden State organization prepared a special ceremony for Thompson in which they gave captain hats to the entire crowd to salute their former player

The California franchise honored the 34-year-old veteran with a special “Salute Captain Klay” this Tuesday evening. Klay was introduced as the Mavericks’ fifth starter during last night’s clash in San Francisco, which served as both team’s first NBA Cup tie. Before the athlete’s introduction, the home team played a minute-long tribute video, a well as some words from former teammate Stephen Curry.

“It’ll be emotional and strange. When you hear Klay Thompson announced, but he’s not running out through our line of guys, it’s going to be a different night for us and him,” said Golden State’s president and chief operating officer Brandon Schneider, before the game started.

According to the executive, ever since the summer the Warriors had been brainstorming ideas to make Klay feel welcome upon his return. Schneider explained how the conversations began as soon as the NBA schedule was released for this season.

This was when the idea of the captain’s hat was decided, because the Golden State organization as they wanted to do something more than just give out a T-shirt or the typical video, because of what the five-time All-Star means to this club. “We think it will be a cool moment to collectively tip our hat to captain Klay Thompson,” he said.