Warriors’ Klay Thompson becomes only the third player in NBA history to record 300 three-pointers in a single season

In the last game of regular season, Golden State made NBA history as they scored 55 points in just the first quarter against the Trail Blazers this weekend, reaching the most points ever scored during this time frame. 

One of the leaders of this incredible accomplishment was Klay Thompson, who’s offered quite a strong response to all his doubters at the beginning of the campaign. The Golden State star dropped five-first quarter three-pointers vs. Portland at Moda Center.

This meant he has made 300 shots beyond the arc this season, becoming the first time he’s ever reached this milestone.

All five of Klay's 3-pointers in the first quarter to reach 300 for the season ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/5RmmRpnJ0p

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 9, 2023

However, it doesn’t stop there, as only two other NBA stars have achieved this feat before. Thompson is now joining former NBA MVP James Harden (once in 2018/19) as well as his teammate Stephen Curry to this record, who has reached this mark four times in the past (2015/16, 2016/17, 2018/19, and 2020/21).

As the Warriors star began the match with 295 three-pointers this season, his coach Steve Kerr was confident that the shooting guard would achieve this record against the Trail Blazers. As the first quarter came to an end, it only took him eight attempts to drop all 5 shots from beyond the arc.

“I am concerned. I am definitely concerned,” Kerr joked about it before Sunday’s clash. “My message will be you’re more likely to get it if you don’t try to get it. That’s the truth.

“There’s a lot of individual stuff that’s meaningful, I recognize that,” Kerr said. “… If Klay can get to 300, great, but the danger is you get out of character — or in Klay’s case, in character — and you shoot every time.”

At the start of the campaign, many criticized Thompson saying he wasn’t the same sharpshooter as he was before. One of these detractors was NBA Hall of Famer and TNT analyst Charles Barkley, who based his judgement on the fact that the athlete had suffered two major leg injuries in the past and wasn’t the same once he returned.

Nevertheless, the shooting guard just needed time to come back even stronger than before, accomplishing career-highs as a league veteran and four-time NBA champion.

Now they will face the Kings in the next round, just as Golden State desired

As the NBA playoff pool is set and the first teams still need to go through the Play-in Tournament, other first-round matchups have already been settled. The Sacramento Kings, the biggest surprise of the season, will host the reigning champions next weekend in a battle for Northern California.

One of the highlights of this series will be the contest between two head coaches that now each other perfectly, as Mike Brown used to be Steve Kerr’s assistant.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aan7XAJJjI

Even though Sacramento have displayed an amazing tournament so far, Thompson admitted that his team was hoping to clash with the Kings in the first round of the conference playoffs.

Although you could argue it’s a preference due to their rival’s inexperience, the Warriors player says it’s more about comfort, closeness, and all the ingredients of a classic match. “That’d be amazing…That’d be special for Northern California,” the shooting guard said.

“They’ve got great fans, we’ve got great fans. Mike B’s got them boys playing together and hard. That’d be really cool just for Northern California, which is a basketball hotbed at the moment. It would be nice for the travel; that would be really nice,” he concluded.