Klay Thompson developed into one of the greatest 3-point shooters in history at the Golden State Warriors, leading him to five All-Star appearances and helping the franchise to four championships.
But as Thompson prepares to face his former team again at American Airlines Center on Monday, the veteran guard enters having lost one specific skill that separated him from much of the league for most of his career.
While Thompson's 3-point percentage has remained largely the same since his return from two devastating leg injuries in 2022, it's his free-throw shooting that's strangely fallen off a cliff this season.
Klay Thompson's free-throw shooting has quietly dropped dramatically
For much of his career Thompson has always been a deadeye at the free-throw line, albeit he's never necessarily got there a ton. In his final year with the Warriors in 2023-24, he actually led the league in free-throw percentage at 92.7%. Even now, despite a dip this season, he ranks 59th all-time in career free-throw percentage.
For some reason or another, Thompson is down to 73.8% from the free-throw line this season. This is just the second time in his career he's been under 80%, having shot 79.5% from the charity stripe in his third year way back in 2013-14.
Perhaps it's simply a lack of rhythm for the 36-year-old. Thompson is averaging an easily career-low 22 minutes per game, and is subsequently averaging a career-low 11.9 points per game. It's therefore not overly surprising that he's attempting just 0.7 free-throws per game -- the first time he's been under one in his career.
Nonetheless it's still a bizarre development and another sign that Thompson isn't quite the same player he used to be, though his 38.5% shooting from beyond the arc on nearly eight attempts is still nothing to sneeze at.
Klay Thompson will enter latest Warriors game with some confidence
Thompson will also take some confidence into Monday's meeting with the Warriors, having enjoyed two solid games after a brief two-game absence. He went for 17 points on 4-of-10 3-point shooting against the Atlanta Hawks, before following that with 12points on a perfect 4-of-4 from beyond the arc against the L.A. Clippers on Saturday.
It will be a vastly different Warrior team to what Thompson is accustomed to, with long-time teammate Draymond Green, along with Gary Payton II, Gui Santos and Brandin Podziemski, the only likely rotation members that he once shared the floor with.