Basket Reference
Basket Reference
It is January 23, 2015. The Golden State Warriors are leading the Western Conference (35 wins and 6 losses) and the American basketball world is already in love with Stephen Curry. The California team is impressive, but the almost daily fireworks of the point guard with the face of an angel focus the attention.
It’s hardly noticeable that another shooting alien is in the backcourt. Klay Thompson is adored internally and everyone in the organization is aware of his importance. If this had not been the case, the Wolves’ proposal to trade him for Kevin Love would have been accepted in a minute.
To conquer the heart of the general public in the NBA, Klay still lacks a striking performance, flashy. Of those that we remember 10 or 20 years later, or that remain in the history books. When the Warriors welcome the Sacramento Kings, one of the weakest teams in the Western Conference, Thompson knows he has this famous performance in his hands. His outside ability is already astounding and the first quarter of competition has put him in the discussion for a first All-Star Game selection.
At the beginning of this year, the former Washington State will make his participation in the All-Star Game indisputable.
Reaching or exceeding the 50-point mark in an NBA game already gives you a little respect. That said, it doesn’t guarantee anything. Brandon Jennings and Terrence Ross scored 50 and 51 points each in a game without a brilliant career.
Klay Thompson not only scored 52 points against the Kings, but he redefined the very definition of “being on fire” that night.
The beginning of the third quarter was exclusively in the Kings’ favor, as they led 58–56 after a 7–0 run. Klay Thompson has 13 points on the scoreboard — which is good but not great either. He starts to feel the need to wake up his partners. He is not going to wake them up, but to put a huge slap in their face as well as on everyone present on the court at this moment.
On the first ball, he decides to drive. In full traffic, his spin move leads to a fadeaway to launch the hostilities. On the second ball, in transition after a counter, he decides to shoot in front of the basket at 3 points despite the presence of teammates. Swish. A few seconds later, he is shifted from downtown on the left by Curry. Ben McLemore tries to hinder him. It’s useless.
The show continues with an alley-oop offered by the elder of the Splash Brothers, again on the counter-attack. Ten points? It is already strong, one thinks.
Nothing stops Klay Thompson who will finish his perfect quarter with 37 points, an NBA record
Then it was Nik Stauskas who tried to step in on a third outside bomb, this time slightly to the right of the arc. Bang. From three feet out, he catches Stauskas again on the next possession. Bing. The unfortunate Stauskas continues to take on water without his coach coming to his aid. Still at 3 points. Splash.
A sharp screen exits, some catch and shoot, and bam. Ray McCallum is too short to stop one of the nine 3-point bombs sent victoriously by Klay Thompson. It is the same thing on the next possession. Two-way shots, hands in the face, off-balance. Nothing stops Thompson, over whom one believes to see for a moment a small flame.
37 points in one quarter. At 13/13 in the shot, 9/9 in three points, plus two free throws. Insolent, staggering, terrifying. More staggering than the previous record co-held by George Gervin and Carmelo Anthony with 33 units in one period.
Thompson will score two more points at the beginning of the 4th quarter, but the reason will incite Steve Kerr to make him go back to the bench, like the other members of the group, once the game is over.
At the end of the game, Klay Thompson will say to the microphone of CSN Bay Area his astonishment at this unique moment:
"I can’t believe I own an NBA record. God is good. I’m so blessed to be here and healthy. Hopefully it stands for a long time. That was crazy. I don’t know what happened. I’ve never shot like that."
It was that game that made it clear to him and observers that the Warriors didn’t keep him simply because he could, on occasion, get hot to complement Stephen Curry. If he wasn’t playing with the two-time MVP, Klay Thompson might be the most prolific shooter in the league and is already on the trail of the best snipers in the game.
No one today wonders if the Californian is shining because of the system. If the system works, it’s because the individuals who compose it, Thompson in particular, evolve at an insane level and with a confidence “off the charts”. This confidence, Klay Thompson has acquired this evening of January 2015, five months before the first title of the Warriors in 48 years.
A key moment of this dynasty that is now trying to reinvent itself. We are all now waiting for Klay Thompson’s return to the game with the Warriors in the coming weeks.