NBA Rumors: The big reasons Klay Thompson rejected LeBron James, Lakers

LeBron James was reportedly excited to have Klay Thompson with the Los Angeles Lakers, but the Splash Brother ended up choosing the Dallas Mavericks as his next team for the 2024-25 NBA season.

The 34-year-old had a big decision to make after 13 seasons with the Golden State Warriors, and it all came down to LA or Dallas. According to Adrian Wojnarowksi of ESPN, the cost of living in each state played a part in Thompson’s final decision, apart from the Mavs’ recent run to the 2024 NBA Finals:

“The Lakers were extremely intriguing to Thompson, but the financial savings from living in Texas over California and the fact that the Mavericks came within three victories of an NBA championship were big factors in his decision, sources said.”

Woj reported Thompson agreed on a three-year, $50 million contract to join forces with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving at the Mavs, which proves that money wasn’t the player’s priority this offseason.

Klay Thompson #11 of the Golden State Warriors dribbles past LeBron James #6 of the Los Angeles Lakers at Chase Center on October 18, 2022 in San Francisco, California.

While the Lakers sounded like a logical landing spot due to Thompson’s connection with the franchise from his childhood, it seems that he feels there’s a better chance to succeed in Dallas.

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“I actually probably don’t think it was that close for Klay. I know that the Lakers are a big draw because they’re his hometown team, but they’re not comparable to where the Mavericks are from competing for championships,” Brian Windhorst of ESPN said Tuesday, via Lakers Nation.

The Mavericks may have lost to the Boston Celtics in five games in the 2024 NBA Finals but they still went further than most teams last season. The Lakers, for instance, couldn’t make it past the first round of the playoffs.

While the idea of playing alongside LeBron James for such a storied franchise is appealing, the Mavs reportedly presented Thompson “a very clear plan” of how they intend to use him. The purple and gold, on the other hand, have plenty of questions to answer, as rookie head coach JJ Redick is still a mystery.

“The fact is that state income tax was a factor in making this actually worth a little bit more money than the Lakers’ offer, I guess I’ll throw that on the pile. But I think that this was probably a pretty clean decision. Klay wanted to hear the Lakers out and get past the heart strings there, but Dallas makes the most sense for him in a vacuum,” Windhorst added.