During a recent chat with Michael Cooper on his podcast, Showtime w/ Coop on CLNS, Klay Thompson opened up about his time with the Golden State Warriors. He spoke about how he would fight with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, but the mix-ups were always due to their collective drive to win.
“For us, there have been a lot of scuffles,” Thompson said. “There have been a lot of bad words said and feelings hurt. But at the end of the day, we know we just want to win. When you raise a banner, you can look past all the stuff you went through as brothers. There were times there would be friction — whether it be Draymond and I, or Steph and I, or Coach and I. It's just part of it. And you grow from it. You be man enough to leave that on the court and be a professional about it.”
Based on their success with the Warriors, the fighting was worth it.
What legacy did Klay Thompson leave with Warriors?
Thompson’s mark on the Warriors organization is undeniable. Anyone who follows the NBA understands what he, Curry, and Green (and Andre Iguodala) did for the team over the years, and the four rings they collected are the perfect evidence.
Years of injury problems plagued the tail end of Thompson’s time in Golden State, yet even after the two full seasons (and nearly three years) of recovery, he still managed to help them win a fourth championship in his return season.
Spending a ton of time with anyone in any context is bound to cause problems. Arguments are inevitable. Disagreements are part of life. And all of those truths are only made worse in the context of an NBA locker room.
Professional basketball is such a hyper-competitive environment, as are all sports. In the heat of the moment, whether that moment be a loss, a fight in practice, or anything of the sort, tensions are going to rise. That’s just life.
But what made the Warriors so special, especially based on Thompson’s testimonial, was their ability to look past that in the pursuit of winning.
They understood that fights were inevitable. They got into disagreement after disagreement, whether it be the three stars, Steve Kerr, or anyone else on the roster. But during the years they played together, those things didn’t matter.
No matter what happened, no matter the fight, they always managed to push through, because they knew there was something bigger at stake: Championships.