Klay Thompson

Andy Fahey

The Warriors have already secured home court advantage throughout the playoffs, thanks in large part to the contributions of Klay Thompson. Using data-driven analyses and graphics provided by MOCAP Analytics, we’re giving him his well-deserved moment in the spotlight.

The Warriors have a commanding 10-game lead in the Western Conference and have secured home court advantage throughout the playoffs. Their offense clicks, their defense suffocates, and playing no small part in their success is Klay Thompson. The breakout first-time All-Star stretches the defense with his shooting, and is on pace for career-highs in points, field-goal percentage, and three-point percentage, while his improved decision-making has led to more career-highs in free throw attempts and assists. Combined with his outstanding defense, he’s one of the league’s best two-way players. Using data-driven analyses and graphics provided by MOCAP Analytics, we’re spotlighting Klay’s game.

Offensive Player Profile: Klay’s Versatility on Display

In an historic 37-point third quarter against the Kings on January 23rd, Thompson’s shooting performance was, by definition, perfect (13-of-13 from the field, 9-of-9 from behind the arc). So, too, are his season-long scoring, shooting, and wing game MOCAP ratings (range is 0-100; 50 is average). As one of the NBA’s elite offensive players, he’s must-see T.V., capable of entering video-game mode (or beyond, according to Draymond Green) as he did during the highest scoring quarter in NBA history.

Great Chemistry: Pure Shooters that Make the Game Easy for Each Other

Last season, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson broke the NBA single-season record for most made three-pointers by teammates. This season, with improved chemistry and Steve Kerr’s free-flowing offense, they’ve lifted their games to new heights and clearly established themselves as the NBA’s premier backcourt. With 482 combined treys between them, the Splash Brothers need only three more in the remaining five games to break their own record.

The entire team has bought into the mantra of passing up good shots for great shots, and this pass from Thompson to Curry, with the game clock winding down, is a perfect example:

“I expected him to shoot it because he had a little bit of time, but he made the right play and it was a great pass. He was patient the whole time, considering the situation, and he trusted me to make the shot, so thankfully I was able to knock it down. A lot of good bounces that went our way and then Klay makes a good basketball IQ play in that situation. I’m pretty sure if he shot it he would have made it too, but we got a better look and it went down. “ – Stephen Curry

Similar Styles: Wings that Play Both Ends

Nobody in the NBA can match Thompson’s combination of size, shooting and defense. Danny Green and Wesley Matthews, two very solid Western Conference wings that are catch-and-shoot specialists and can guard multiple positions, are the two most similar player comparisons according to MOCAP’s data.

Please post your comments below and feel free to let us know what other kinds of data-driven content you’d like to see in the future. You can also follow MOCAP Analytics on Twitter and Instagram at @mocapanalytics.

player-spotlight-klay-thompson

Player Spotlight: Klay Thompson

gswjphayer

You know that part in Old School where Will Ferrell’s character channels an inner-voice and flawlessly answers a question during a debate and then suddenly comes to and asks what happened? That’s kind of what happened on  January 23 with Klay Thompson. Don’t get us wrong, the Warriors’ guard was having an incredible game to that point. He scored 13 points in the first half and then made his first eight shots of the third quarter, but then something that was already pretty great became the stuff of legend.

Over the final 3:03 of the quarter, Thompson out-scored the Kings 18-3. The rest you know... 37-point third quarter, NBA record nine 3-pointers in the period, perfect 13-for-13 shooting in the quarter.

Afterwards, Coach Steve Kerr  joked that Klay Thompson "took down social media" with his record breaking performance . Kerr may have been joking, but Twitter could not stop talking about the ultimate heat check performance from the Warriors guard. "Klay Thompson", "37 POINTS", "THIRD QUARTER", "Warriors" and other related topics were trending for the majority of Friday night. "Klay Thompson" was trending for well over 12-straight hours, racking up close to 11,000 mentions per hour.

Everyone from current players, to former players, to media, to fans, to anyone with a Twitter account was buzzing about what was going on at Oracle Arena. Here's how Klay's historical performance unfolded on social media.

[View the story "Klay Breaks NBA Records &amp; Twitter" on Storify]

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Social Recap: Klay Breaks NBA Records and Twitter

Training camp is over. The roster has been set. Now it’s time to go show the world once again that the USA is tops when it comes to global basketball supremacy.

TEAM USA GROUP PLAY SCHEDULEAll Games Televised on ESPN

The first-ever FIBA Basketball World Cup (previously known as the World Championship) tips off this Saturday, and it’s safe to say that it’s Champions-or-bust for Team USA. Even with guaranteed roster locks such as LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Kevin Love declining to participate, Team USA still boasts a talent level unmatched by any other squad in the world. Paul George’s unfortunate injury was certainly the low-point of the evaluation process, but it’s the type of competition from which that resulted that makes the U.S. the favorites to begin with. Several extremely talented and qualified players were left off the final 12-man roster, and the Warriors are one of two teams (Sacramento being the other) with a pair of teammates on the national squad.

Stephen Curry had long been considered a lock to make the team and did nothing to cast doubt on that, but Klay Thompson’s status coming into training camp was certainly in question. However, after training camp and a series of international exhibitions, it became readily apparent that Thompson not only proved to be a valuable asset to the team headed to Spain, but also that he provides a much- needed skill set. When asked to evaluate what he’s seen from Thompson throughout the evaluation process, Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski responded, “I knew he was really good, he’s better than what I thought. He’s a great competitor and really good defender.” It’s that ability to impact the game on both ends of the floor that quickly replaced the question mark by Thompson’s name with that of a check, and now he’s poised to not only be a member of the main rotation of the roster, but is also expected to receive significant playing time. While Warriors fans are obviously well-aware of his capabilities, those who don’t watch Golden State games on a nightly basis haven’t had as much of a chance to see the specialness of the Splash Brothers. Now, in Spain, it’s a chance for Curry and Thompson to break out as a duo on an international level.

The World Cup will host 24 teams divided into four groups of six nations each. Teams will play a round-robin within their group, at the conclusion of which the top four teams from each group will advance to a single-elimination tournament. Whereas the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team received an incredibly tough draw in the “Group of Death” in the recently completed World Cup, the scheduling gods were much kinder to the Americans when it came to basketball. Placed in Group C with the Dominican Republic, Turkey, Finland, New Zealand, and Ukraine, the U.S. sits as the unquestioned favorite to finish first in the group in pool play, which should set them up nicely for the elimination round. For instance, they were placed on the opposite side of the bracket as host-nation Spain, widely considered the biggest threat to Team USA’s championship hopes, meaning they wouldn’t encounter the Spaniards until the Championship Game. Conversely, Spain will have to go through the likes of Brazil, Serbia, and Argentina – much stiffer competition – in order to reach that point. However, although things are set up nicely for U.S. success, the fact remains that this is basketball after all, and games are played on a court, not on paper. As the unquestioned favorites, Team USA will have a target on their backs and will likely get the opposing team’s full effort in every contest. They would be unwise to assume victory will come easily.

For Team USA, the fact that it’s championship-or-bust is just an inherent expectation that accompanies being the best. The standard has been set for decades, and it’s up to this new generation of players to maintain that level of excellence. For Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, this is both an honor and an opportunity. It’s every player’s dream to represent their country at the highest levels of international competition, and both Splash Brothers most definitely deserve this recognition. However, playing alongside arguably the best talent they will ever be teamed up with, the chance is there for the Warriors’ duo to leave their mark on national basketball history, and for each to show the world just how talented and special they are. Watching these games should be a source of pride for all Warriors fans, as it’s no coincidence that their favorite backcourt will have plenty to do with determining whether or not Team USA comes home with the gold. If the Splash Brothers do their thing, which at this point should surprise no one, you have to feel pretty good about their chances.

Klay Thompson

Player Spotlight: Klay Thompson

Social Recap: Klay Breaks NBA Records and Twitter

Splash Brothers Ready for the World Cup