NBA players are rarely fortunate enough to share the locker room with an all-time great. However, Nick Young surpassed this norm long ago after joining a star-studded Golden State Warriors roster, consisting of Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and Klay Thompson. Years later, the 39-year-old has recently reminisced about his time in the Bay Area.
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During an interview with NBC’s Monte Poole, Young revealed the unforgettable memories of the last decade. Swaggy P subsequently showed respect to each of those three all-time greats, while outlining his unparalleled luck. Expressing his gratitude, he mentioned,
“It don’t hurt when you get a chance to play with one of the best players to play this game, well three of the best players to play this game. You got Steph [Curry], arguably the number one best point guard to play, and KD [Kevin Durant] is KD. Then you got Klay [Thompson] and Klay was playing some amazing ball. I really got a chance to see what Game 6 Klay is about”.
"It don't hurt when you get a chance to play with one of the best players to play this game."
Nick Young tells @MontePooleNBCS what stood out to him about his time with the Warriors pic.twitter.com/FZANe1CVoH
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) June 15, 2024
Those moments came into his mind during his latest visit to the Oakland Arena after six years. Embracing the Warriors jersey in the 2017/18 campaign, Young went through thick and thin in this historical venue for an entire season.
Interestingly, his first and only sighting of ‘Game 6 Klay’ also occurred in this indoor arena. When the franchise trailed 2-3 in the Western Conference Finals against the Houston Rockets, Thompson shouldered the responsibility to rescue his team. Scoring 35 points on the night, he turned around the series’ fate, leaving a lasting impact on Young.
Young witnessed Durant and Curry engaging in healthy competition during the NBA Finals. Both aimed for the Finals MVP award to display their greatness, benefiting the franchise to a large extent. Eventually, all the moving pieces fit together perfectly, resulting in Swappy P securing his only ever NBA title.
Predictably, a visit to this place has remained a special one for the California-born journeyman. His latest comments only pointed towards it further, shedding light on his unwavering bond with the organization.
![Klay Thompson will end his time with the Golden State Warriors which brought him a shower of NBA titles and All-Star appearances to join the Dallas Mavericks, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Klay signing with another team besides the Dubs has raised questions as to why the veteran sharpshooter would leave his forever home and try winning somewhere else, given that Curry and Draymond still have a championship run left in the tank. Well, it appears to be a matter of respect for Klay and not money, as the former Warriors player accepted a financially inferior contract to play three years with the Mavericks. Appearing on Gil's Arena, Kenyon Martin pointed out how the Warriors paying Green his $100 million contract, and lowballing Klay only a season later is downright disrespectful, highlighting it as the cause of Thompson's departure from GSW. The 46-year-old further pointed to the fact that Klay has had a better stat line, greater impact on winning, and played more consistently than Green through the years, and still got offered a worse contract, something that definitely rubbed Klay the wrong way. Talking about his opinion further, Martin said, "You paid Draymond [Green]...I'm a bucket, I've averaged more points than him, we don't do none of this without me...And this is the thanks I get? It's a slap in the face." But Martin's interpretation of loyalty and respect seems to conflict with NFL veteran, Shannon Sharpe's interpretation of the whole situation. The former NFL tight end believes that Klay got what he deserved, and the Warriors didn't low-ball him. The 56-year-old further added that in a contract year, players are expected to show out and prove their worth. But Thompson did the opposite, as the 34-year-old posted the second-worst statistical season of his career. Airing out his opinion further, Sharpe said, "If you go back and look at it, Jordan Poole had a career year when his contract was up, they paid him. Draymond played well, they paid him. Stephen A. said last week, This is statistically Klay’s worst year.’ It happened to be in a contract year. They didn’t wrong him.” Unlike his NBA counterpart, Sharpe seems to think that Klay got paid for his legacy when the Warriors paid him $190 million over 5-years back in 2019. It's important to note that Thompson signed that contract just weeks after blowing out his ACL, and still was offered the second-largest contract in franchise history. Another NBA veteran, Richard Jefferson, also seems to be siding with his league mate, calling out the Dubs front office for their disrespect of Klay. Richard Jefferson reveals how Thompson has been demanding a better contract since X'Mas last year After the news of Thompson's signing to the Mavericks finally went official, Richard Jefferson appeared on ESPN's daily show, 'NBA Today' to call out the Warriors for fumbling the bag, and not paying Thompson his due respect and money. During his rant, the former Warriors forward highlighted an incident between him and Thompson to further point out how the contract issues between Thompson and the Warriors had been lingering for over a year. Recalling the incident, Thompson said, " This was on Christmas Day. I get off the elevator, and I see Klay, and I'm like, 'Klay, what's up?' I'm like, 'Hey man, keep your mentals right.' He's like, 'Man, tell them to pay me my money...This was on Christmas Day. On Christmas Day, a guy that had won four Championships. I don't give a damn what anybody says how much money they gave him over the years because he turned their franchise around." As far as perfect situations go, the whole Klay-Warriors scenario is less than ideal. Not only do the Dubs lose out on a bona fide franchise legend and one of the best shooters to ever play the game, but Klay also needs to adjust to life in a new team, a new city, and with new teammates and coaching scenarios. He will, of course, hope that all works out well, but if it doesn't we may see a Klay that regrets his decision to leave the Warriors.](https://cdn-wp.thesportsrush.com/2024/07/e368aa5e-untitled-design-2024-07-03t092652.398.jpg?format=auto&w=384&q=75)
