After the NBA Nation tour in China, Golden State Warriors Kevin Looney and Klay Thompson recently joined the ANTA Squad Asia Tour in Manila. A 4-time NBA champion with the Warriors, Thompson has been one of the most impactful players for the franchise in the last decade. During a press conference in Manila, Klay was asked about his 41-point performance in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals in 2016, against the OKC Thunder. Thompson revealed how a Draymond Green speech gave him the confidence to produce his epic 41-point performance.
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The Warriors were looking for their 2nd back-to-back title in 2016 and had gone off to a 24-0 start. They won 73 games in the regular season despite missing Steve Kerr to a back injury for the first 43 games of the season, according to Fox Sports. Eventually losing out to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Warriors had an eventful season and came back strong the following campaign.
Klay Thompson reveals epic Draymond Green speech helped him during the 2016 WCF
The OKC Thunder had the Golden State Warriors reeling at 3-1. Boasting Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, the Warriors needed to overturn a 3-1 deficit in order to qualify for the Finals.
Despite all odds, Curry and company managed to do so, with Thompson producing his highest-ever return in a Playoff game, with 41 points. He revealed that Green had made one of the best speeches he ever heard, before Game 6:
“I thought you would say game 6 2023. I do remember, when I think back about that game, I remember losing game 4, we are down 3-1. Draymond Green made one of the best speeches I have ever heard, about how no one thought we were gonna win 73 games and no one thinks it is possible we can come back from this deficit. Let’s go shock the world. That right there, gave me a lot of confidence. I went to the next game with that mindset, and that is a very great memory for me, because we really shocked ourselves and had out of body experiences.”
Awesome stuff here:
Klay Thompson shares how a speech by Draymond after OKC went up 3-1 inspired his G6 performance for that series.
Then Looney goes through what makes him a great rebounder – including watching his teammates’ shots after practice for ball placement pic.twitter.com/XCxm7vD7cf
— Naveen Ganglani (@naveenganglani) August 31, 2023
Thompson talked about how Green claimed they had already done improbable things through the season. This included finishing with a 73-9 record in the regular season. Green was determined to help his team “go and shock the world,” and that is exactly what the team ended up doing.
The Warriors’ core has led the franchise to incredible success
The Warriors have been a constant menace for fellow NBA teams in the past decade. Perennial title contenders, Curry and Co. surprised the world in 2022 as well, when they won the title against all odds.
That was the Warriors 4th NBA title since 2015, which is in addition to 2 further Finals appearances. A majority of the credit goes to the permanent core of Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, and Stephen Curry.
Mychal Thompson (@champagnennuts) to @Sportskeeda on @KlayThompson‘s long-term future with Warriors: “Him, Draymond and Steph should never wear another uniform.” https://t.co/tDFygceQh6
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) August 30, 2023
Curry, in particular, is a generational superstar while the two others are future Hall of Fame inductees. Thompson’s dad, former NBA player Mychal Thompson, recently made the claim that the three players should never wear another uniform again. The Warriors have managed to keep hold of their winning team and formula and continue to be regarded as contenders for the upcoming season as well.
