Klay Thompson told NBA reporter Anthony Slater of The Athletic that the Golden State Warriors’ playoff loss to LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2023 Western Conference Semifinals “stings bad.”
The Warriors lost to the Lakers in six games. It was the first time Golden State didn’t reach the NBA Finals after making the playoffs in the Steve Kerr era.
“Stings bad,” Thompson said. “Bad. Because you want to win against a team that is a division rival, you want to beat your hometown, you want to beat your friends who are fans of the team, you want to beat LeBron obviously. We have such a deep history with him. Kudos to him. He’s still out here playing at the highest level he possibly can. So, yeah, it stings. Any time you come up short of your goal, and we have many times, it’s just motivation. It’s fuel. You think about it the whole summer. How could you have prepared better?”
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors, LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers 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 before losing to the Lakers. 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.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors, LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers Updates
“I learned that I was fried. I was tired,” Thompson said. “All my shots in that Game 6 were short. They were all on line. They were just short. I don’t know if that’s mental fatigue or physical fatigue. But it happens. Then on top of that, I learned as I get older, I’ll have to rely on my teammates and my smarts to be as efficient scoring the ball as I possibly can be.”
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