Mavericks come to another brutal Klay Thompson realization Warriors know all too well

By the end of his tenure at the Golden State Warriors, Klay Thompson's often audacious shot-making wasn't quite matching the questionable shot selection that became a frustrating element for fans and ultimately led to a brief move back to the bench in the 2023-24 season.

The Dallas Mavericks may be coming to the same conclusion after a rough season opener for the veteran sharpshooter, with Victor Wembanyama completely taking over as the San Antonio Spurs stormed into American Airlines Center and emerged with a dominant 125-92 victory on Wednesday night.

Klay Thompson's shot selection drew criticism in the Mavericks opener

Thompson played 22 minutes in the blowout loss, recording 10 points on 4-of-13 shooting and 1-of-5 from 3-point range. He was a -23 in the 33-point loss, with the Mavericks having no answer for Wembanyama who dazzled everyone with 40 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks on 15-of-21 shooting in less than 30 minutes.

In fairness, Thompson's preparation wasn't ideal after averaging just nine points on 34.3% shooting from the floor and and 33.3% from beyond the arc in his four preseason games. It was more of the same in the season opener, having drawn the ire of many Mavericks fans with some ill-advised one-legged jump-shots and tough contested attempts from 3-point range.

Dallas aren't necessarily putting the 5x All-Star in a great position to succeed, having decided to start No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg at point guard above another former Warrior in D'Angelo Russell who played 15 minutes off the bench.

With Flagg and a frontcourt combination of Anthony Davis and Dereck Lively II, there was a real lack of playmaking and spacing that saw Thompson force many of his attempts rather than getting the pure catch-and-shoot looks that we've become so accustomed to previously.

For as good as Wembanyama was, the Mavericks own offense was arguably a bigger problem. They took just nine 3-point attempts for the game, while shooting just 37.3% from the floor and recording nearly as many turnovers (16) as they did assists (20).

Thompson departed the Warriors last offseason in large part to play next to Luka Doncic, but now he's been left without the sort of playmaker that he needs alongside him to really prove effective. Until Flagg improves or Kyrie Irving returns from injury, it's likely Thompson's shot diet will remain veered towards tougher attempts rather than the easier looks he's had in the past.