On Wednesday night, the Dallas Mavericks faced the Minnesota Timberwolves in a Christmas Day game. Despite the 105-99 loss, there was cause for celebration: Klay Thompson surpassed Reggie Miller to become the fifth player with the most three-pointers in NBA history. After the game, the 34-year-old star shared his emotions and explained how he achieved the milestone.
“It’s honestly a dream come true,” Thompson said, visibly satisfied, during the postgame press conference at the American Airlines Center. “I’m going to celebrate it tonight because you think about all the hours you spent shooting, all the shots you’ve taken throughout your life.”
Thompson’s 12-point, four-rebound, one-assist performance moved him into fifth place on the career three-point leaderboard, with a total of 2,561 three-pointers between his time with the Golden State Warriors and the Dallas Mavericks. This accomplishment allowed him to pass Indiana Pacers legend Reggie Miller.
“To pass such an icon like Reggie is super surreal for me,” Klay acknowledged. “Especially a 90’s baby, I watched him hit so many game winners, battle against the best to ever play and leave it all on the floor… I remember his game winning shots, his battles with Mike (Jordan) and Kobe (Bryant), taking a small market team like the Pacers all the way to the NBA Finals. Made the East Finals routinely, and just being a standard for what a shooting guard should look like.”
Thompson also revealed that Reggie Miller played a significant role in shaping his career. “Ever since I was a teenager, I studied the way he moved off the ball,” he said. “He’s had a huge impact on my game.”
Reggie Miller, Indiana Pacers star, during the 2004-05 NBA season.
Reggie Miller’s response
Hours after the game, Thompson took to Instagram to celebrate the achievement, once again paying tribute to Miller. In a post that garnered over 100,000 likes, the Dallas Mavericks star shared a special story.
“One of my favorite memories along this journey was working out for the Knicks in June 2011, and Donnie Walsh told me how much I reminded him of Reggie. That meant the world to me and inspired me to never stop shooting. Salute to the greatest to ever shoot it, Reggie Miller! Thanks for the blueprint, OG,” Klay wrote.
As the post gained traction, numerous NBA stars, past and present, took to social media to congratulate Thompson. Among them was Reggie Miller himself, who commented, “HONORED to be on any list with you, Klay Thompson.”
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Top five three-point scorers in NBA
Klay Thompson earned his place among the NBA’s elite on Wednesday night, moving into fifth place on the all-time three-point leaderboard with a total of 2,561 career three-pointers. Above him are Damian Lillard with 2,683, Ray Allen with 2,973, James Harden with 3,022, and, of course, Stephen Curry, who holds the top spot with 3,841.
