Klay Thompson doesn't believe he had as bad of a 2022-23 NBA season as some believe he did.
In an exclusive interview with The Athletic's Anthony Slater, Thompson discussed his performance last season and why the perception might have been skewed.
“I think (my struggles were) a little overrated,” Thompson told Slater. “The microscope on our team now is insane. You gotta accept that. I didn’t shoot the ball well at times. I’m human. But guess what? I still led the league in made 3s and shot 41 percent. That’s insane. Over 300 makes. I’m not going to sell myself short. I know how incredible that is. To do that after an ACL and an Achilles, that’s hard work.”
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In 69 regular-season contests, Thompson averaged 21 points per game and a career-high 4.1 rebounds while leading the NBA in 3-point makes with 301.
All things considered, Thompson -- in his first fully healthy season since 2019 -- returned as close to form as the Warriors could have hoped for.
However, he began to struggle in the Warriors' first-round playoff series against the Sacramento Kings before falling apart in the semifinal-round loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
In six games against Los Angeles, Thompson averaged 16.2 points per game on 34.3-percent shooting from the field and 38.1 percent from 3-point range.
Golden State Warriors
The disappointing series against his hometown team left a bad taste in Thompson's mouth and he came away with an honest assessment of his performance that provided him the motivation he needed this summer to prepare for the 2023-24 season.
“Stings bad,” Thompson said. “Bad. Because you want to win against a team that is a division rival, you want to beat your hometown, you want to beat your friends who are fans of the team, you want to beat LeBron [James] obviously. We have such a deep history with him. Kudos to him. He’s still out here playing at the highest level he possibly can. So, yeah, it stings. Any time you come up short of your goal, and we have many times, it’s just motivation. It’s fuel. You think about it the whole summer. How could you have prepared better?”
“I learned that I was fried. I was tired. All my shots in that Game 6 were short. They were all on line. They were just short. I don’t know if that’s mental fatigue or physical fatigue. But it happens. Then on top of that, I learned as I get older, I’ll have to rely on my teammates and my smarts to be as efficient scoring the ball as I possibly can be.”
Thompson vows to improve this season and hopes he can maintain consistent success throughout his age-33 campaign.
“I’ll be better in the upcoming postseason when that time comes,” Thompson added. “But no regrets (about last season). I played my absolute hardest, and at times, it was the most elite I’d ever been. Especially that stretch after the new year. I was on fire. Hopefully I can have a similar start to the season. I’m in such a great spot right now. I’m in good shape. Come opening night, I’ll be in the best shape possible.”