“Football. Baseball. Basketball”: Satisfied with His $43,219,440 Salary, Klay Thompson Discusses His ‘Legendary’ Motive for Representing the Warriors

It’s been 12 seasons since the Golden State Warriors drafted Klay Thompson as the 11th overall pick of the 2011 Draft. And since then, Thompson has remained loyal to the Dubs as much as Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. In a recent article for the Athletic, Anthony Slater wrote how Thompson is quite content with his annual $43,219,440 salary and that he wouldn’t want to leave for anywhere else.

Klay Thompson has made it clear through his actions that he wants to finish his career with the Warriors. The star shooting guard has won four championships with the team while being selected five times as an NBA All-Star. Thompson forms an important part of the core for the Warriors, combining his prolific shooting abilities with elite defending skills, that have won the Dubs many accolades.

Klay Thompson aspires to finish his career as a Warrior

Like Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, Klay Thompson has remained loyal to the Dubs. He aspires to finish his career with the team that drafted him, which he believes is a rare moment enjoyed by very few NBA players.

For Thompson, staying loyal to a franchise for any sport easily makes a player reach legendary status. He used Udonis Haslem’s example to prove his point, a Miami faithful, who is revered locally as a hero in South Beach. Thompson also aspires to achieve such a status, believing that this phenomenon extends to every sport. Expressing his thoughts on the matter, Thompson said:

“I wouldn’t want to go anywhere else. To play for one franchise, man? That’s so rare. In any sport. Football. Baseball. Basketball. Australian Rules Football. To play for one club is insane. It’s some real legendary stuff…Going around the country, going around the world and people from Northern California or Warriors fans in general are just so prideful about the Warriors. And I was here before banners were hung up. So in a way, it’s our baby. You want to ride it out.”

Thompson used an incredibly adorable metaphor of treating the franchise’s accomplishments like his own baby. Indeed, the resurgence of the Warriors only happened after the formation of the incredible Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson trio.  The Warriors ended their 40-year trophy drought in 2015, with the trio leading the way for three more championships in 2017, 2018, and 2022.

Stephen A. Smith does not believe Thompson is a Dubs lifer

Stephen A. Smith disagrees with Mychal Thompson regarding Thompson’s status as a Dubs forever. Thompson believes his son Klay and Draymond Green are ‘Lifers’ with the Warriors. Though SAS completely agrees with Steph Curry being a lifer with the Dubs, he does not have the same opinion for Klay Thompson.

Responding to Mychal Thompson’s comments on his son, SAS highlighted how Klay Thompson was never an elite superstar like Stephen Curry. As per Smith, his impact was minimal on the Warriors’ four championship runs in the past decade.

Stephen A. Smith favored Klay Thompson being traded if that helped building a suitable team around Steph Curry. This seems quite interesting, given that Thompson would become a free agent next season. As of now, the five-time All-Star hasn’t signed any contract extension with the team. Perhaps the veteran could apply Draymond’s approach and appraise his status as a free agent to get the best value from his new contract.