Former NBA Champion Expresses Disbelief Over Klay Thompson’s Move Away From Warriors

Klay Thompson’s decision to leave the Golden State Warriors has been the biggest news in the NBA free agency this summer. After a stellar 13-year stint with the franchise, the guard will start afresh with the Dallas Mavericks. While some fans, analysts, and former players felt that his time with the team had reached its conclusion after their play-in tournament loss to the Sacramento Kings, one former teammate is still in disbelief about his exit.

Juan Toscano-Anderson, who played for the Warriors for three seasons and won a championship with the franchise, expressed his dismay about the guard leaving the team on X, formerly Twitter. He wrote, 

“I know days have passed, but I really can’t believe 11 ain’t on the home team no more. That’s crazy.”

 

His disappointment is justified. The Oakland native spent his late teenage years and early 20s watching Thompson and Stephen Curry turn the franchise from the league’s laughing stock to one of its greatest dynasties. Their identity was built on the guards’ shooting prowess and together, they led the Warriors to four championships.

Thompson’s importance to the franchise was outlined by his impact in the 2021-22 season. In the preceding two campaigns that the guard missed due to knee injuries, the Warriors went from perennial Western Conference champions to failing to earn a playoff spot. However, after his return, they reclaimed their throne as the best team in the West and won their fourth NBA title in eight seasons.

Toscano-Anderson was with the Warriors during that three-year stint and witnessed the stark difference in the franchise’s fortunes with and without Thompson. He’s a firsthand witness of the guard’s impact on the team, and seeing him leave is unsurprisingly a difficult pill for him to swallow.

While Thompson may or may not finish his career with the Warriors, the franchise plans to do right by their icon. During a press conference following his exit, head coach Steve Kerr gave a heartwarming tribute to his former player, saying,

“Klay is going to have a statue outside Chase [Center] someday… He’ll be beloved by his teammates, coaches, and our fans forever… Klay, if you’re watching, thank you for everything.”

The Warriors moved quickly after Thompson’s exit and landed veteran guard Buddy Hield as his replacement in the starting lineup. However, nobody can displace him from the place that the four-time champion has in the hearts of the Oakland natives, like Juan Toscano-Anderson.