4x NBA champion Klay Thompson signed a three-year, $50 million deal to start a new chapter with the Dallas Mavericks.
Prior to signing with the Mavs, Thompson spent 13 years with the Golden State Warriors as he won all four of his NBA Championships with the franchise.
However, last summer, Klay had a major fallout with the franchise over a contract extension. That led to Thompson’s departure, but fast forward to now and his debut season with the Mavs didn’t go exactly as planned.
Considering the Mavs reached the 2024 NBA Finals, most expected the team to only get better with the addition of Thompson.
While they were aware Thompson was out of his prime, they still expected him to emerge as a leader for the team.
However, the 2024-25 NBA season was by far one of the worst seasons for the Mavericks in recent history. For starters, the organization traded Luka Doncic.
On top of that, they were hit with a plethora of injury trouble throughout the season. As for Thompson, he did play 72 games for the team, but his numbers were down.
When the dust settled, the Mavs missed the 2025 NBA Playoffs, even with Thompson’s addition. Moreover, it’s not like the Warriors really benefitted from allowing Klay to walk.
The Warriors barely advanced to the playoffs and were handed an embarrassing 4-1 defeat in the second round at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves. All things considered, neither team really benefited from the big decision by Thompson.
A much easier way to look at the nightmarish season for Thompson is to compare his stats for the Mavs and Warriors.
According to data provided by Sofascore, Thompson averaged 14.0 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game for the Mavs this season. He contributed those numbers while shooting 41% from the field and 39% from the three-point line.
In comparison, Klay put up 17.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game for the Warriors in his final season. He also shot 43% from the field and 39% from deep.
That’s nearly a difference of 4.0 points per game. Moreover, Klay played 2.4 minutes per game less for the Mavericks.
Unless Klay puts up better numbers in the 2025-26 NBA season, it wouldn’t be wrong to say he failed to justify his move to Dallas.
