Klay Thompson Will ‘Get a Lot More Open Shots’ With Mavericks

Klay Thompson

’s move away from the

Golden State Warriors

and to the

Dallas Mavericks

was arguably one of the biggest shocks of the

NBA

off-season, having spent his entire 13-year career with the Warriors.

But, now on a team that is led by the backcourt pairing of superstars

Luka Dončić

and

Kyrie Irving

, league insider Mark Medina believes he will now see more opportunities on offense, especially in catch-and-shoot situations, while he may provide some additional wing defense to one of the best defensive teams in the league last season.

Bolstering a Championship-Contending Roster

Added plethora of depth in free-agency with Grimes, Marshall, Thompson

After a ‘long and tiring season’ in the words of Mavericks superstar Luka Dončić, after they fell short of an NBA title at the final hurdle, losing to the

Boston Celtics

in five games, Dallas turned their attention towards fine-tuning their roster ahead of next season so they can attempt to go that one step further and clinch the Larry O’Brien trophy for their own keeping.

While they traded for

Quentin Grimes

from the rebuilding

Detroit Pistons

in exchange for

Tim Hardaway Jr.

and three future second-round picks, they also added

Naji Marshall

– a widely-viewed underrated pickup – in free agency after an impressive season with the

New Orleans Pelicans

, penning him to three-year, $27 million deal, where he will bring both two-way impact and additional three-point shooting.

Both deals cannot be understated for how they may shape the roster next season, but they were certainly overlooked by the blockbuster sign-and-trade deal – which involved a historic six teams – that brought four-time NBA champion Klay Thompson to Dallas after having spent his entire career with the Warriors.

Having had a choice of multiple teams, the five-time All-Star was persuaded to join last season’s NBA finalists by Kyrie Irving, with the two having been teammates on various Team USA rosters in the past, as well as both being ANTA athletes.

Together, along with Dončić, and newly acquired free agent

Spencer Dinwiddie

, they will now regroup and try to capitalize on last season’s team success, but next time, try to get over the line of winning that elusive championship.

Mavericks Were the ‘Best Basketball Fit’ for Thompson

Medina believes the fit between Thompson, Doncic and Irving is one that will work ‘pretty well’, with the backcourt duo expected to take on the majority of the workload, and that will free up the sharpshooting veteran to take on some more open shots.

While there have been questions about his effectiveness on defense since his back-to-back season-ending injuries a few years ago, the journalist, after having spoken with Thompson’s father Mychal, shares the view that he can still guard out on the wing.

Could Thompson Revitalize His Career in Dallas?

38.7 3P% last season fell short of his 41.3 3P% career average

Throughout his decorated NBA career, Thompson has demonstrated time and time again that he is one of the league’s premier high-volume shooters, especially in catch-and-shoot, where, despite his worst scoring season in nine seasons, where he amassed an average of 17.9 points on 43.2 percent field goal shooting and 38.7 percent from three-point range, 8.6 of those points came from catch-and-shoot.

Furthermore, when he had between 0–2 seconds of touch time, the five-time All-Star’s effective field goal percentage was 56.5 percent, further highlighting his ability to get his shot off both quickly, yet with accuracy.

Granted, since his back-to-back season-ending leg injuries from 2020-22, he hasn’t quite recovered his devastating long-distance form, but he has still shown he can shoot close to 40 percent from beyond the arc, having recorded a 39.7 percent average since his return from injury and a 57.1 percent true shooting percentage.

Additionally, Thompson ranked fourth in the NBA during the regular season for three-pointers made with 268, with his new teammate Dončić registering in second place with 284 made three-pointers, giving Dallas even more long-range firepower next season and beyond.

Fortunately for Thompson, his role in Dallas will be a simple one – to shoot the ball when it’s passed to him by one of his All-Star teammates.

As such, it is likely he will see a reduction in his usage rate, where last season, his 23.4 usage percentage was the third-most among the Warriors behind

Stephen Curry

(30.2%) and

Jonathan Kuminga

(23.7%), despite being his lowest figure since the 2017-18 season (23.2%).

For context, this figure is far below that of Dončić (35.5%) and Irving’s (27.4%) numbers from last year’s regular season campaign.

All in all, coming into the 2024-25 campaign with a chip on his shoulder after having felt disrespected by his former team, there is no better time for Thompson to prove his doubters wrong, and that could yield significant dividends to a franchise who have already established themselves as a championship-caliber team.

Could the Mavericks return to the NBA Finals next season? Quite possibly, but we will have to wait and see.

All statistics courtesy of Statmuse, ESPN, NBA.com and Basketball Reference.

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