Golden State’s midseason awards

January 12, 2017; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35), guard Stephen Curry (30), and guard Klay Thompson (11) during the second quarter against the Detroit Pistons at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Pistons 127-107. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
January 12, 2017; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35), guard Stephen Curry (30), and guard Klay Thompson (11) during the second quarter against the Detroit Pistons at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Pistons 127-107. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 9
Next
Golden State Warriors
December 5, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) shoots the basketball during the second quarter against the Indiana Pacers at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /

Best Performance – Klay Thompson’s 60 points

Surprisingly, this category had a lot of competition. Well, perhaps it wasn’t all that surprising. After all, this team does have four All-Stars.

Klay Thompson’s dazzling 60 point performance was one of the greatest scoring displays in league history. The nearly-impossible nature of the feat gave this one the edge. Also in the running were Steph Curry’s 13 three-pointers, Kevin Durant’s return to OKC, and Draymond Green’s non-scoring 10 steal triple-double in Memphis.

You have to feel bad for the Pacers, who had to endure Golden State’s best play and their best performance in the same game. That’s rough. Ultimately, it had to do with the Warriors’ offense just being too special to handle.

The All-NBA shooting guard was remarkable. He shot 21/33 from the field, knocking down 63.6 percent of his shots. He also converted 8/14 (57.1 percent) from beyond the arc. His efficiency was magnificent.

Klay Thompson wasted no time getting his career-high. His 60 points were the fastest in league history, doing it in 29 minutes. The previous record belonged to Kobe Bryant who did it in 33. Thompson would not play in the fourth quarter.

This is the type of game that shows why the Warriors are so deadly. On most nights, Thompson is their third best offensive option. While he’s not sacrificing anything, he’s generally playing off of what Curry and Durant do.

Golden State’s third option had one of the best scoring performances ever. It shows how Thompson can get ridiculously hot in an instant. Perhaps the best number from the whole night was the one assists that Thompson finished with. One.

This might not have even been Thompson’s best individual performance (see: 37 point quarter & Game 6 2016 WCF), but it was the Warriors’ best one this season.