Klay Thompson told NBA reporter Anthony Slater of The Athletic that it would be “so hard” to envision himself not playing for the Golden State Warriors.
Thompson has one year left on his contract. He’ll make $43.2 million this season. The All-Star signed a five-year, $189.9 million contract with the Warriors in the summer of 2019.
“Yes,” Thompson said. “Absolutely. I wouldn’t want to go anywhere else. To play for one franchise, man? That’s so rare. In any sport. Football. Baseball. Basketball. Australian Rules Football. To play for one club is insane. It’s some real legendary stuff. Even what Udonis Haslem did. He’s revered in Miami. Locally. That’s what I cherish. Going around the country, going around the world and people from Northern California or Warriors fans in general are just so prideful about the Warriors. And I was here before banners were hung up. So in a way, it’s our baby. You want to ride it out. I’ve just been so lucky to be a part of this franchise. It’d be so hard to envision myself in another uniform.”
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors Updates
Thompson appeared in 69 games for the Warriors last season. The four-time champion averaged 21.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists while shooting 43.6% from the field, 41.2% from beyond the arc and 87.9% from the free-throw line. The Warriors won 44 games and were the sixth seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
Golden State beat the Sacramento Kings in the first round of the 2023 playoffs in seven games but lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round in six games. Thompson finished the 2023 postseason with averages of 18.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists. He shot only 38.8% overall and 36.8% from 3 in 13 games versus the Kings and Lakers.
Warriors owner Joe Lacob talked about Thompson’s future with the franchise with Tim Kawakami of The Athletic. Lacob said he expects Thompson, whose current contract expires next July, to be with the team past this season.
“I do,” Lacob said. “We’ve had some very brief discussions at this point with his agent. But they’re very, very early. … I fully expect that we’ll have some substantial discussions soon sometime and we’ll see if we can’t put something together that allows Klay to be here for a long time, which we clearly would like him to be.”
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors Updates
Thompson has career averages of 19.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists with the Warriors. The Washington State product has made five All-Star teams, two All-NBA teams and one All-Defensive team.
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