Editor’s note: Monte Poole, Logan Murdock, Drew Shiller and Grant Liffmann participated in NBC Sports Bay Area's inaugural Warriors Ultimate Draft. All four chose squads from a 25-man pool of legends from the last 30 years, plus five "classic" players from before 1990. Our team of experts will analyze the merits of each team until a winner is crowned.
Do not get me wrong, all of the players chosen before Klay Thompson in the Warriors Ultimate Draft are/were studs in the NBA, so an argument can be made for every single one to be worthy of their selection.
But how did Klay fall to eighth?!
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SIGN UP HERE Before the draft, I put together a list of whom I thought might be available for my second and third picks. In winning the lottery, choosing Steph Curry first overall was a no brainer. Yes, some could logically argue that Kevin Durant has the physical tools to be the pick in Curry's stead, but the intangibles for Steph were just too great to pass up.
So once I had Curry on my squad, I figured Durant and Rick Barry, Wilt Chamberlain and Chris Mullin would be the next off the board. While my dream scenario was to snag Thompson and Draymond Green, I figured they would be selected next and leave me with former stars like Chris Webber and Mitch Richmond.
However, once the selections got to Monte Poole, the draft went my way. He selected Baron Davis with the fifth pick, making Drew Shiller feel the need to pick Chamberlain, who had stunningly fallen to sixth, and when Logan Murdock surprised us all by grabbing Webber at No. 7, I was elated.
I had the chance to team up Klay with Steph in the backcourt. Rarely during one of these hypothetical drafts do the selectors think too hard about chemistry between teammates, but not only was I able to select a player that should have been picked earlier, but I also was able to grab someone who has historically great chemistry with Curry.
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The statistics that Thompson has produced over the years should have been enough to be selected earlier in the draft. Over the last five seasons, prior to his ACL injury, Thompson averaged nearly 22 points per game and shot over 42 percent from 3-point range.
Over that stretch, Klay made the All-Star team and reached the NBA Finals in every season, winning three titles, and making the All-NBA team twice. In only eight seasons in the league, Thompson is 18th on the all-time list in 3-pointers made.
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However, what elevates Klay above others is his defensive prowess. He is an exceptional defender who is able to use his 6-foot-7 strong frame to not only guard his own position very well, but also switch on to point guards -- or even power forwards -- and have success.
While he only has been selected to one All-Defensive team, Klay has been a rock on that side of the ball through multiple championship runs, defending some of the greatest offensive players in league history in the likes of LeBron James, James Harden, Kyrie Irving and more.
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With all due respect to Baron Davis and Chris Webber -- two players with arguably Hall of Fame resumes -- Klay Thompson should have been picked before them and never have made it to my team.
But I'm not complaining.