“He just had a presence about him, a lightness when he came in the room. And his one-liners were always great.” Starting off a fresh new NBA season, it was no surprise that Stephen Curry highlighted feeling the absence of Klay Thompson. Having been together for 13 years as teammates, and developing a bond to the point that the duo would be called the ‘Splash Brothers’, a change in the locker room would certainly be present now that Thompson has signed with the Dallas Mavericks. However, from what the All-Time Three-Point leader recently shared, Klay’s exit seems to have allegedly had a more positive impact than negative, thanks in part to one of his replacements.
In the aftermath of the Warriors’ 139-104 win against the Portland Trail Blazers, Stephen Curry took some time out to engage in a Q&A session with several media members. When discussing the energy of the team, the 36-year-old revealed that everyone has held a high morale since the commencement of training camp. In fact, Curry even went so far as to claim “It’s a beautiful locker room. The guys that are (here are) happy to be here, happy to play the way that we do. I understand, everybody be able to use the opportunity.” As for the gap that Thompson’s exit, Curry seems to be glad knowing that Buddy Hield has been able to fill it.
“The guy just loves playing basketball. He loves to hoop, he loves to be in the gym. He got a great personality……Oh My God, I’m complementing you right now” said Curry upon realizing that Hield was standing just a few feet away from him. Placing special emphasis on his defensive and shooting skills, Curry further added, “Without Klay, you needed shooting. We needed shooting anyway” and concluded his remarks with, “He’s (Hield’s) been a very seamless transition so far.”
Even before the preseason commenced, Warriors assistant coach Jerry Stackhouse went viral for claiming that “Buddy will soften the blow of losing, you know, losing Klay.” Having gone through the preseason and one season opener game, even Stephen Curry seems to have drawn this conclusion. As it turns out, so have several NBA fans.
How did fans react to Stephen Curry’s praise of Buddy Hield?
One social media user was able to catch how, despite having Klay Thompson during the previous seasons, Stephen Curry was so bold to state “We needed shooting anyway.” This caused him to put out a remark that stated, “We needed shooting anyway” bro said Klay don’t got it no more,” accompanied by a broken heart emoji. Even if Curry’s remark was an intentional or unintentional dig towards his former ‘Splash Brother’, the statement does carry some truth with it.
The 2023-24 season saw a noticeable drop in Klay Thompson’s shooting ability. While his percentage remained the same, his attempts were lower compared to his previous season, as he only averaged 6.4-14.7 field goals, 3.5-9 three-pointers, and 1.6-1.8 free throws. For an aspiring NBA player, however, these stats would be something that he would be set as a threshold. What they wouldn’t be setting as a threshold, however, is the player’s major drop in performance upon joining the Dallas Mavericks. After all, Thompson averaged only 7 points during the preseason by going 2.3-9.7 with his field goals, 2-6 with his three-pointers, and 0.3-0.7 with his free throws. Therefore, if there was ever a time to claim that “Klay don’t got it no more, what better moment than now?”
Another social media user chose to follow the same path as Steph of complimenting Buddy Hield. However, he also did so by taking a shot at Klay Thompson, stating, “Stop talking about Klank. He chose to leave. We will miss him. But move on. We got Buddy now. And right now he’s better than Klay.”
Since his rookie season back in 2016, Hield has made over 1924 three-pointers, while Thompson has made 2481. However, it is important to note that the now Mavericks star was in the league for five years longer, and while Thompson only had four seasons in which he made 250+ threes per campaign, Hield has five. Steph’s former ‘Splash Brother’ has cast some doubt through his recent performances, while Hield averaged 12.2 points during the preseason by going 4.5-8.7 with his field goals, and 3.2-6.5 with his three-pointers. His first regular season game against the Warriors saw him build upon the stats by making 22 points through 8-12 field goals and 5-7 three-pointers.
via Imago
One individual certainly felt that the days of missing Klay Thompson might be behind him. After all, nothing else could have compelled him to state “Very pleasantly surprised by Buddy, didn’t even miss Klay with him out there.”
From the start of training camp, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr had emphasized the need for his team to be “a high volume 3-point shooting” one. From Andrew Wiggins getting six to seven up per game, to Podziemski, Moody, and Melton doing their part, he made it clear where the offensive priority was to be laid. The preseason matchup between the Warriors and the Kings certainly saw the players heeding their head coaches’ words, as Buddy Hield made 6-7 three-pointers. He wasn’t the only one who turned up on the shooting front, as Jonathan Kuminga made 4-7, De’Anthony Melton 4-9, and Stephen Curry dropped 3-6. Therefore, along with Hield, everyone else is also stepping up to fill the void.
Another individual indicated that if Thompson came off as a better 3-point shooter, then Stephen Curry certainly played a role in it. After all, “Buddy is the best shooter he (Curry) ever played with. You know that because Klay got to play with Steph Curry, the greatest shooter ever, making shots more open. Buddy Hield never had a shooter with gravity on his team. Never played in a system that got him this kind of looks often.”
Hield himself felt that the pressure to score was less on him, now that he had someone like Curry on his team. In a statement, he told reporters after the recent game that he hadn’t felt this free since his days dating back to college basketball. This free-spirited mindset is something that even Curry appreciated.