Mavericks' Klay Thompson makes Shaq, Tom Brady comparison for leaving Warriors

11/12/2024 12:44 PM

It still feels unusual to a lot of fans to see Klay Thompson wearing a Dallas Mavericks uniform. After all, Thompson spent over a decade with the Golden State Warriors.

Despite what appeared to be a bumpy end to his time with the Warriors, Thompson said that he still appreciates the time he spent with Golden State. At the same time, he feels that there is still a lot ahead of him at this point in his career.

“I’m so grateful for everything I experienced at Golden State,” Thompson shared, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN.

“But I mean, I’ve seen some of my favorite athletes pivot and have tremendous success. When I think of Shaq[uille O’Neal] leaving the Lakers and winning a ring or Tom Brady winning one with Tampa Bay, it’s been done before.”

O’Neal continued to flourish on the basketball court even after parting ways with the Los Angeles Lakers, as concretely evidenced by the fact that he won his fourth NBA championship with the Miami Heat in 2006 — his second season with Miami. It is also worth mentioning that in O’Neal’s first year in South Beach, he finished runner-up in the voting for the NBA Most Valuable Player Award that was won by then-Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash.

Like Shaq, Brady reached the pinnacle of team success in the NFL following his departure from the New England Patriots, as he secured his seventh Super Bowl title with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021.

Klay Thompson aims to win an NBA championship that would define a major chapter in career

Can Thompson find the same kind of success that Shaq and Brady had after parting ways with the franchises they spent their most iconic years with? That remains to be seen but with the Mavericks, he has a good chance, at the very least. Just last season, the Mavericks reached the 2024 NBA Finals, falling just short in the grand stage as they lost the series to the Boston Celtics.

“That was my main goal at this point in my career,” added Thompson. “I just want to win, and this team is so close. I just wanted to be a part of that when July 1 hit [free agency]. It’s human nature to think about your future. As present as you’re supposed to be, we’re all human. We all think about that. Now, to know I’m locked in for a few years here, it allows me to be free.”

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