Warriors Sharpshooter Klay Thompson: "I Changed A Lot"

Warriors sharpshooter Klay Thompson has evolved from a quiet, understated role player to an All-Star-level 2-guard and off-the-court star.

- Nima Zarrabi

ON THE NIGHT he snapped for 37 points in one quarter against the Sacramento Kings, Klay Thompson didn’t look like himself. He was smiling, jumping up and down, screaming at times on his way to a pristine 13-13 from the floor and 9-9 from behind the arc in the third quarter. The stone-faced, expressionless look he usually exudes on-court had evaporated is he charged toward the NBA record he set that night. He was in the moment and loving it. Some of the evening is still a blur for Thompson, who racked up 52 in all. What he recalls vividly are the Warriors fans on their feet each time he touched the ball and his teammates unwillingness to shoot. “I have to give so much credit to my teammates because they didn’t want to shoot the ball until I missed,” Thompson says. “I couldn’t believe I hit 13 shots in a row that’s hard to do in practice, let alone a game. I didn’t have to take too many dribbles in that sequence—I was able to get to my spots. And the shots I was putting up were all in rhythm. It looked like it came in good flow. It was a crazy night, man. It’s hard to even put it in words.”

When he has gone back and watched film of that night, Thompson has come away dreaming for more. “For me it’s very motivating—man, I can put up 37 in a quarter?” Thompson says. “I know I have a lot of untapped potential after seeing that. I know that if I can do that I can really become a great player. I don’t know if I can ever do it again. I don’t want to put a limit on myself. It was a special night for me because I never thought in my lifetime I would hold an NBA record.”