Klay Thompson & the winning ways of the Warriors

Klay Thompson is one of the elite players in the NBA, and is widely considered the best pure shooter in the league, so having him on a team with three other All-Stars (Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and Draymond Green), it’s no wonder the Golden State Warriors are always title contenders!

They have struggled with some injuries to their roster this season but they continue to dominate and look forward to another title run.

Being the son of a former NBA star in Mychal Thompson, expectations are always high, but Klay has responded to every challenge along the way.

The STAR had this chat during a call with international media.

PHILIPPINE STAR: Will you guys try to best that 73-9 record, or does it really matter?

KLAY THOMPSON:  As far as 73 wins, it’s not a huge goal of ours. If we were close, we’d obviously go for it. But it’s going to be almost nearly impossible this year because we already have six losses. We’ll see. I’m not going to say never, but it would be very hard.

How hard is it to play without Steph Curry on the floor when he’s injured?

Well, we obviously miss Steph incredibly. He’s one of the best players in the world, so not to have him out there is unfortunate. But while he’s not here, we do not make excuses for his absence. We still try to do what we do without him, and that’s just play hard, play together, and win as many games as possible. We’ve been successful without him so far because of our depth, and we don’t make excuses when some of our best players are injured. We still have fun, go out there and try to win games, but we obviously miss him dearly.

The Warriors and the Rockets have been battling for the top spot. It’s looking like a healthy rivalry between James Harden and Chris Paul.

Well, the Rockets are playing phenomenally this year. I mean, they’re in first place right now, so it’s unfamiliar for us to be behind them, but it pushes us to get even better. And Chris Paul and James Harden, I mean, it’s one of the best — if not the best — backcourt in the game right now just because they’re such great playmakers. They both can shoot the ball. They don’t really have any weaknesses. It’s always a fun matchup when me and Steph get to go against them because we can measure ourselves as players against the best. They beat us the first time (on opening night), and we’re looking forward to that game in a few weeks because we owe them some revenge.

What things have you learned so far with the Warriors and coach Steve Kerr?

Well, just the humility the team has. We’ve got so much talent, guys who could be superstars for other franchises, but really, all they really care about is winning. We all have healthy egos. We do all have egos, but we don’t let it get in the way of what’s really important, and that’s winning championships. I never would have envisioned myself having two championships within six years when I started, and hopefully many more to come. But that’s one thing I’ve learned about this team: that we have guys who put the team first and want to win on top of everything. No one is out there to get theirs or get their individual numbers. We all just want to win.

With the changes with the All-Star game, are there any players you are looking forward to playing in the East?

I think it would be cool to play with Kevin Love just because I grew up with that guy since I was eight years old. That would be cool. We haven’t played on the same team since we were kids. To play with him in the All-Star Game would be pretty special. It’s always fun competing against them. Whoever else, I don’t know. I’ve played with a lot of guys just through USA Basketball. I mean, it would be fun to play with LeBron just because I’ve always gone against him, and it would be cool to see him, like, on a teammate aspect.

You are the only Warriors player to be available for every game this season. Has this consistency led to your better shooting percentage?

Honestly, man, I don’t even think about statistics when I play, but it’s just so great to have guys who can shoot the ball so amazingly on the same team because it makes us so much better throughout the year. Throughout practice we push each other.

I’ve never played on a team with guys who shoot it better than me. Now I’ve got two guys that arguably do, and it just motivates me to be better. That’s why I think I’m shooting the ball at such a high level this year.

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