By Steph Curry spoiled the emotional return of his former “Splash Brother” Klay Thompson to Chase Center on Tuesday as the Golden State Warriors rallied late to beat the Dallas Mavericks 120-117.
Thompson was playing against his former team for the first time since leaving the Bay Area to join Dallas in July having spent 13 successful years with the Warriors.
But it was Curry – with whom Thompson helped to revolutionize basketball with their three-point shooting – who had the last laugh, scoring 37 points and Golden State’s final 12 points to come back and beat Dallas.
The magnitude of the victory for the Warriors was evident when Curry was seen screaming into a TV camera in celebration after making a clutch three in the fourth quarter as Golden State improved to 9-2 to remain tied atop the Western Conference.
But the game will be remembered for the return of Thompson to face the Warriors after being part of the franchise’s dynasty run, which included four title victories and countless memorable moments.
When Thompson arrived at Chase Center, he was greeted by around 400 Warriors employees, who lined his path and cheered as he made his way to the locker room.
“That was really cool,” Thompson said. “I’m very grateful for the employees to give me that kind of love … totally unexpected and definitely put a smile on my face. Something I’ll never forget.”
Fans in attendance were given “Captain Klay” hats for the evening – a homage to Thompson’s choice of hat he wore during the title celebrations in 2022 – and there were video tributes to the 34-year-old throughout the pregame warm-ups.
Before tip-off, Curry and Thompson exchanged an embrace and the Warriors played a tribute to Thompson during the player introductions which ended by saying: “Thank you #11, Thank You Game 6, Thank You Captain, Thank You Splash Brother, Thank you Klay.”
As Thompson got off the bench, the emotion of the occasion appeared to catch up with him as he was serenaded with loud cheers from the Warriors crowd.
The “Splash Brothers” were reunited early in the game, with Curry fouling Thompson 15 seconds in and Thompson scoring the first two points of the game from the free-throw line.
“I’m so surprised they ran a post up for him on the first play,” Curry said. “I blacked out on that one, I wasn’t going to let him score and I fouled him. It was a pretty special night.”
Although the evening eventually ended in defeat for Thompson and the Mavericks – Thompson scored 22 points on his return – he was grateful for the reception he received.
“It was a cool moment to feel the energy from the fans,” Thompson said. “Especially all the chatter that I heard, it was all positive.”
In Thompson’s time in California, he was part of the core alongside Curry and Draymond Green, who also helped to bring so much success to the team.
However, Thompson missed more than two years after suffering back-to-back serious injuries – first an ACL tear and then a torn right Achilles tendon – before making a return in January 2022.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr spoke about Thompson’s resilience after Tuesday’s game.
“I think what he overcame is almost unprecedented,” Kerr told reporters. “The last couple of years after he came back, he struggled reconciling all of that, losing those prime seasons. We all saw that, saw him struggle with it emotionally. We saw him fight to get his game back. He helped us win a championship, led the league in threes two years ago, he did a lot of amazing things.
“We wished that this had gone forever, that Klay would have finished his career with us, but circumstances always dictate these things. In the end, I think he made the right choice … He was not happy and that was hard to see, because he deserves to be happy. At his core, he’s a very happy person.”
