Ranking Golden State Warriors from the 2022-23 season – Klay Thompson
With the 2022-23 season having come to an end, we look back and review every player that took to the floor for the Golden State Warriors. Players are ranked on performance, with some of that based on preseason expectations.
While the most recent thought of Klay Thompson may surround his deteriorating form in the second-round of the NBA playoffs, that shouldn’t suppress what was an impressive regular season from the Golden State Warriors’ veteran.
Entering his first full season off two major leg injuries, and having played until June thanks to the Warriors’ 2022 championship, Thompson began the season slowly and wasn’t active in any of the team’s pre-season games.
The four-time champion would average just 12.3 points on 28.6% shooting from deep over his first six games, with fans often led to frustration over Thompson’s shot selection as the NBA champions got off to a wayward start.
A period of increased responsibility saw Klay Thompson reignite his offensive prime for the Golden State Warriors in 2022-23.
Thompson knocked down 43.4% of his triples in November, breaking out of his slump with 10 threes and 41 points against the Houston Rockets. With Stephen Curry out injured in early December, Thompson stepped up to average 22.5 points for the month but without the efficiency seen in November.
Thompson opened up the calendar year with a bang against the Atlanta Hawks on New Year’s Day, recording a season-high 54 points with 10 threes while adding eight rebounds. The performance, in which he played nearly 46 minutes, led the Warriors to a thrilling 143-141 victory in double overtime.
That was part of a five-game span where Thompson scored at least 29 points, ending January by averaging 27 points on 45.9% from the field and 43.1% from three-point range. He began February with 42 (12 threes) and 31-point games against the Oklahoma City Thunder and Portland Trail Blazers, before feeding on the Rockets again later in the month with another 12 threes and 42 points.
Curry’s return in March saw Thompson’s usage understandably decrease, though he still had eight threes and 38 points against the Phoenix Suns before ending the month with seven triples and 31 points against the San Antonio Spurs. He scored at least 20 points in each of the last 10 regular season games, helping the Warriors stave off opponents to hold the Western Conference’s sixth-seed.
Thompson was solid without being spectacular in the first-round series against the Sacramento Kings, scoring between 21 and 26 points in five of the seven games. His 16 points on 19 shots in Game 7 were rough, but fortunately he and his teammates were saved by Curry’s brilliant 50-point masterpiece.
The 33-year-old had an inefficient 25 points in Game 1 of the second-round against the Los Angeles Lakers, but responded by going 8-for-11 from deep in a dominant 30-point display in Game 2. Unfortunately it only became a disaster from there, with Thompson averaging less than 11 points on an horrific 25% shooting from the field over the final four games.
Thompson will enter the final year of his deal in 2023-24, with the $43 million expiring contract opening up murmurs about his future with the franchise. However, given the recent trade of Jordan Poole for Chris Paul, Golden State are clearly focused on maintaining their ageing core that includes Thompson.
Next. Poole departure continues Golden State Warriors’ abhorrent recent theme. dark
Put the postseason aside and it was a very successful for the sharpshooter. He averaged 21.9 points (most since 2016-17), shot over 41% from three-point range, and averaged a career-high 4.1 rebounds. His 27 points per game in January was also the highest of any month in his entire career. They’re all numbers that suggest Thompson can still be a huge piece in the Warriors’ getting back to the NBA mountaintop next season.