“Klay Thompson chose $9 million a year from Anta to be the Michael Jordan of the brand”: Why the Warriors star picked Anta over reputed franchises like Nike and Adidas

Klay Thompson is currently gunning for another title with the Golden State Warriors, and while another ring may not make him Michael Jordan, he did try to achieve that status in another way.

Game two was a resounding success for the Warriors. They beat the brakes off the Boston Celtics, using a dominant third quarter to blow the game open.

Curry was one his usual game, finishing with 29 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assist. He got decent help from his supporting cast as well as Jordan Poole chipped in with 17 points, and Looney, Thompson, and Wiggins all finished with double digit points.

However, it wasn’t the Warriors offense that beat the Celtics, it was their stifling defense. That much is clear when you look at the box score and see that Boston shot 37.5% from the field and turned the ball over 19 times. Tatum (29 points) and Brown (17 points) were the only real contributors for the team on offense.

While the Warriors have a lot of positives to take away from the game, there may be one sign of concern. Klay Thompson has still yet to find his groove, shooting a combined 10/33 from the field, scoring just 26 points across both games. It’s not time to panic yet with Klay, but he will need to pick it up if the Warriors want to win this series.

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Klay Thompson wanted to be the Michael Jordan of his brand

Klay’s performances are set to improve, and if the Warriors won game two in such a convincing manner with him going cold, then maybe it’s the Celtics who should be more worried about his cold streak.

Regardless of all that, Klay has achieved a lot in his career already. Additionally, he’s also the face of the brand Anta, a decision he chose to make to be the head man of the brand in a similar way Michael Jordan is of the Jordan brand with Nike.

“I knew with the other brands in the States, whether it was Nike or Adidas, it was going to be tough for me to get a signature shoe,” Thompson explained back in 2017.

“I knew with Anta, I would have so much input creatively. I was going to hopefully be the Michael Jordan one day of Anta. That really resonated with me, and knowing that I could be really big in China, that was really cool to me. The shoe market sometimes is overflooded in the States, and I thought, ‘Well, why not branch out and be global.”

That reason is pretty solid all things considered. It’s different being the biggest player of a particular brand instead of just falling in line with all the other big brands that have several superstars tied to them. Klay’s Anta deal pays him $9 million a year as well, which while it may not be the richest shoe deal, is still a substantial amount of money.

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