Klay Thompson and Steve Kerr have come a long way since their inaugural season in 2014, but there was a time Kerr expressed concerns to GM Bob Myers that he had a bad rep with the Warriors guard.
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Klay and the Warriors are currently sitting one win away from making their sixth Final in eight years, reaching Michael Jordan levels of dominance.
They have owned the Western Conference (and well the NBA really) for quite some time, and now that the team is finally all healthy, they’re looking to retake their throne.
Klay’s return immediately brought new energy to the Warriors. Sure, they were doing just fine without him, sitting in the top three of the Western Conference all season long, but there was just something different about Klay’s first night back.
He had been out for more than two years with two devastating leg injuries (one after the other) and seeing him back, just running along the court was a welcome sight. Tonight, Klay will be looking to complete a gentleman’s sweep against the Mavericks to push GSW back to the Finals.
Klay Thompson is 1 win away from going to 6 straight NBA Finals.
— HTB ♨️ (@HenryTheBlasian) May 23, 2022
Steve Kerr was worried Klay Thompson didn’t like him, went to Bob Myers to express his worries
The Warriors dynasty began back in 2014. That season, the Warriors won the Finals after a dominant regular season which saw them win 67 games. They beat LeBron in his homecoming to Cleveland to take home the championship, their first title in 40 years.
The Warriors team in 2014-15 was not much different than the ones from previous years, the teams which had been at most a second round out. The major difference? Coaching. Steve Kerr replaced Mark Jackson, and he transformed the Warriors offense to be the lethal machine that it is today.
Kerr has been the Warriors coach since 2014, bringing in three titles for the Warriors in five years. Now, he has a chance to make it four in eight. However, it wasn’t always smooth sailing. Kerr knew that he had to win over the hearts of all the players on his team, and so he reached out to each and every one personally after getting the Warriors’ job. Klay wasn’t quite receptive though.
“When I got the job, the first thing I did was I called every player. Klay wasn’t responding to me. So I called Bob (Myers) and said, “Bob, I’m really worried that Klay, maybe he’s angry about the coaching change. He won’t call me back.” Bob just started laughing. He just said, “Welcome to Klay’s world,” Kerr recalled.
It’s pretty funny to think about now considering all that Kerr and Thompson have gone through together. Tonight could be yet another memory in their storied relationship.
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