“Mark Jackson Made it Acceptable For Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson”: Isiah Thomas Credits Former Warriors Coach For 3-Pointer Revolution

It’s no secret that the Golden State Warriors led by Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson have changed the game of basketball forever. After all, kids on pickup courts are now yeeting the ball from 30 feet out for fun.

The Warriors’ offensive system today is predicated on ball movement designed to capitalize on player movement. It never sticks to one player for too long, allowing everyone to get touches.

Also important is the way that they operate their 3-pointer-heavy offense. The Warriors take advantage of their backcourt’s shooting prowess to allow easy shots for their role players.

It’s the way that they won 73 games in the 2015-16 NBA season. Steph and Klay’s spacing and off-ball movement allowed the likes of Harrison Barnes, Shaun Livingston and Iguodala to get comparatively easy buckets.

We haven’t seen the Warriors play the same brand of basketball since that time. However, the rest of the league has implemented a lot of elements from the offense that Steve Kerr established there.

But at the same time, one feels that the name of Mark Jackson gets buried in these discussions. After all, it was Jackson who empowered Steph and Klay and utilized them to the best of their abilities first.

Isiah Thomas credits Mark Jackson for allowing Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson to do their thing

Isiah Thomas was recently a guest with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson on the All the Smoke podcast. The trio talked for over 3 hours, with the second half of the podcast being released yesterday.

When talking about how the Warriors have changed basketball, Isiah made sure to give his former rival his flowers:

“The guy who doesn’t get credit for changing the game in this so-called evolution of the game is coach Mark Jackson. He saw a guy by the name of Steph Curry and a guy by the name of Klay Thompson, and Mark Jackson as a coach made it acceptable for Steph and Klay to shoot from that range.”

“People always shot from that range. But they didn’t do it as a part of their offensive schemes. Mark Jackson solely accepted Steph and Klay shooting from that range during the crucial parts of the game.”

Why Mark Jackson is out of a job in the NBA

Mark Jackson was unceremoniously fired by the Warriors in order to make room for Steve Kerr in 2014. Jackson had done a splendid job in getting the team to 51 wins in the previous season.

However, the team truly changed when the Warriors implemented a true motion offense. Jackson ran a more pick-and-roll-heavy offense with tons of isolation plays for his stars, which allowed Steph and Klay to dominate alongside David Lee, but wasn’t getting the best of their role players.

The results of Kerr’s influence became very clear as the Warriors’ offense became the most potent in the league. They also doubled as defensive juggernauts once Draymond Green began starting games in Kerr’s first season.

After 9 years of success under Kerr, it is understandable that the lion’s share of credit for their dynastic run goes to him. However, Mark Jackson will always be the guy who paved the way for this.