When Klay Thompson signed with the Dallas Mavericks in the offseason, many doubted the Golden State Warriors‘ ability to remain contenders. However, Stephen Curry has silenced critics with his red-hot start, propelling the Warriors to a surprising 12-3 NBA record and first place in the Western Conference.
Golden State has addressed the void left by Thompson with significant contributions from new addition Buddy Hield and the emergence of role players like Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody, who have stepped up in their expanded roles.
Former NBA champion with the Boston Celtics, Kendrick Perkins, now an ESPN analyst, attributes Curry’s stellar performance to a personal motivation tied to Thompson’s departure.
“It’s that light-skinned brother with the green eyes,” Perkins said on SportsCenter. “It seems like he’s on a revenge tour right now. I saw this look in his eyes during the preseason and I said, ‘Steph Curry is locked in.’ Steph Curry feels some type of way, in my opinion, with Klay Thompson leaving him.”
Perkins continued, “We saw the passion that he played with when they beat Dallas a few weeks ago. But when you think about the way this team is playing, Steve Kerr is adding a new recipe to the game with a 13-man rotation.”
Perkins on Draymond Green’s defensive resurgence
While Curry’s dominance is driving the Warriors, Perkins also pointed out Draymond Green’simproved defensive intensity as a key factor in the team’s success.
“They’re defending the perimeter at an extremely high level. No. 1 at guarding the 3-point line,” Perkins explained. “Draymond Green is looking like a guy who’s saying, ‘You know what? I think y’all forgot about me when it comes to Defensive Player of the Year-type guys, and I’m going to put my name back in the conversation.’”
Green shares story of Thompson ‘ghosting’ Curry
Perkins’ theory of Curry’s “revenge tour” gained traction after Draymond Green revealed an incident involving Thompson. According to Green, Thompson “ghosted” Curry before the Warriors faced the Mavericks at Chase Center, adding fuel to Curry’s competitive fire.
“Steph was supposed to speak before the game,” Green shared on The Draymond Green Show with co-host Baron Davis. “[Steph] was like, ‘I called [Warriors VP of Communications Raymond Ridder] and told him I’m not speaking. I just need to lock in on the game. … And I talked to Klay about it.’ [Steph] tried to check in with Klay on something else, and Klay ghosted him. So he got pissed.”