Klay Thompson shocked the NBA world when he announced his departure from the Golden State Warriors after 13 years alongside Stephen Curry, opting to join Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks with a three-year, $50 million deal.
The Warriors will undoubtedly miss Thompson, who, along with his āSplash Brotherā Curry, won four championships and formed one of the greatest duos in NBA history. Despite their separation on the court, the bond between Curry and Thompson remains strong.
Recently, both players attended the WNBA game between the Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty, where Curry unexpectedly ran into Thompson. To Curryās surprise, Klay wasnāt aloneāhe was with his new Mavericks teammate, Derrick Lively.
Upon realizing that Thompson was hanging out with Lively, Curry had a comically exaggerated reaction, appearing mockingly disgusted by the sight of his former teammate cozying up to his new Dallas companion.
Curryās emotional farewell to Thompson
After Thompson officially signed with the Mavericks, Curry took a moment to share a heartfelt goodbye to his longtime teammate during an interview with ESPN while preparing for the Olympics with Team USA.
āKlay heading to Dallas, itās tough. It does suck losing Klay. Thereās no two ways around it. Itās something that I never imagined would be a reality, but we want him to be happy,ā Curry said.

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He added, āwe want him to be able to enjoy the game of basketball. We would have loved to maintain the core and finish out together, but we obviously understand the league and how things change. So, you have to be able to celebrate what we accomplished and then be able to move on.ā
Kyrie Irvingās crucial role in Thompsonās signing
In an interview with NBC Sports Bay Areaās Dubs Talk, Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd opened up about the recruitment process, emphasizing Kyrie Irvingās significant role in convincing Thompson to come to Dallas.

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āWhen it comes to recruitment, a lot of people were part of the process,ā Kidd said on Dubs Talk. āBut one of the biggest factors was Kai [Irving]. Kai was able to connect with Klay, player to player, and share his experience of what itās been like in Dallas over the past two years. He gave Klay an honest assessment of what he thinks could happen with him on board.ā
Kidd downplayed his own involvement, saying, āIād love to say it was all me, but it wasnāt. It was a team effort. But in this league, player-to-player recruitment is huge. This was all about Kai and Klay being able to have that conversation.ā





