Klay Thompson has been consistent with the Dallas Mavericks. Here’s why.

The new Dallas shooting guard opened up about why this summer has been so big for him. 

In Klay Thompson’s debut for the Dallas Mavericks, he was clearly nervous. The four-time champion and legendary shooter was out of his comfort zone. For the first time in his 13-year NBA career, he wore another jersey than Golden State’s and for the first time in many years, he didn’t have his familiar crew of Steph Curry and Draymond Green next to him.

At the end of his first game, he had set the franchise record of most three pointers in a debut with six makes, and had officially shaken off the nerves. In a show of relief and pure joy with making a fresh start, his reaction went viral.

Back in September, in a candid conversation before training camp, Klay Thompson talked about the struggles he’s been dealing with the last couple of years, which may have been part of the reason why he left Golden State and why he was ready to find a new home in Dallas.

In his first four games as a Maverick, Klay has been better than what most people expected – on both ends of the floor. And even more valuable: he has been consistent.

He’s averaging 16.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists as a Maverick, with 22, 19 and 18 points, followed by somewhat of an outlier with seven points last game against the Timberwolves. However, he remained in the plus column and had a great impact on the game with his gravity, passing, off-ball movement and defense.

But before he started training camp in Dallas, Klay Thompson worked out with Tristan Jass in California. In a YouTube episode named “I worked out with Klay Thompson!”, Klay opened up in a way we’ve rarely seen before. He revealed that he had let negativity get to him over the last couple years.

“That’s why this summer has been so big for me, bro. The last two years were so tough for me because you try to measure yourself to what you were and all the accomplishments and all of that,” he told Jass in a candid post-workout conversation.

Klay revealed that he got distracted by the noise and forgot why he started playing basketball to begin with:

“I let so much other crap get into my head. And I forgot why I play this game. Cause I love it. I love to come into the gym. I love getting the shots up. I love playing pig. And I’m like trying to measure myself to everyone else’s standard. And I didn’t realize how big of a waste of energy that is.”

Klay Thompson had clearly been struggling in Golden State before coming to Dallas, where he was expected to accept a smaller role than the one he’d been playing for the last 13 years as part of the Splash Brothers next to Steph Curry.

But a couple of years, Klay started to feel “miserable” in Golden State, as one person close to him said according to Ramona Shelburne in a piece called “Why the Klay Thompson era ended at Golden State”. He was miserable because his contract negotiations had stalled and because he thought he wasn’t respected or valued by the team in the same way as Steph Curry and Draymond Green. And as Shelburne writes: “Miserable at his declining role on the team. And yes, miserable at the way his game and play had declined, as well.”

After being away from basketball for two years, recovering from lower leg injuries, his mobility wasn’t the same, and his role on the team had changed.

It was obvious that he didn’t feel respected, and as a veteran with four titles that’s a tough situation. Referring to online comments in his recent conversation with Jass, Klay remarked that “sometimes people are rotten to the core.” Often with injury and lowered mobility comes less consistency, and Klay was criticized from fans and media alike the last year in Golden State, which got to his head and affected his attitude on the court.

“I feel like that impeded what I was great at. At the end of the day I look back and I still play a phenomenal brand of ball.”

“You average 18 a game and shoot 39 percent from three in the league. I’m not gonna let someone tell me that’s not great. You would have told me that as an 18 year old, I’d been like “hell yeah!” he told Jass, opening up about his struggles.

A major reason why Klay Thompson came to Dallas was because he could see himself filling a role they needed in order to win it all. He felt like he could contribute in a way he wasn’t able to or allowed in Golden State anymore. He also expressed excitement about the brand of basketball Dallas played in the playoffs.

When watching Dallas play, Klay Thompson was reminded of what he still could be and what he wanted to be. Luka Doncic’s joy, Kyrie Irving’s peace, the dynamic duo of athletic bigs in Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively. This team inspired him and seemed to remind him of what he loved about the game to begin with.

“I just gotta remind myself, basketball is about joy and fun,” Klay Thompson said to Jass, nodding his head.

And according to Ramona Shelburne, all Klay Thompson talked about back in June, since he had decided and accepted that his time with the Warriors was over, was wanting “new experiences” and a “fresh start.” The fishbowl in LA, playing for the Lakers as Klay also had considered, didn’t fit the bill in the end. “Dallas seemed like a better place to get that.”

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