Klay Thompson has officially signed with the Miami Heat, but the veteran guard has also used the moment to address public discourse surrounding his legacy with the Golden State Warriors. Thompson engaged with social media users on Instagram over the weekend, responding to claims that his championship success was diminished because he was not the primary scorer.
One user commented on a post from the "Swishlist Podcast" that Thompson had "never been a first option" and that Ray Allen had a superior career "in his first 10 years." In response, Thompson wrote, "You do realize I was the 2nd leading scorer on two championship teams without KD?" He added, "You want me to go to a bad team and put up empty stats, that’s easy buddy."
Thompson further defended his postseason performance by stating, "Holy s*** I led the 2016 playoffs in points scored you casuals 😂." This comment appears to reference the 2016 NBA Playoffs before Kevin Durant joined the Warriors, implying that his scoring prowess was evident even without Durant on the team.
The timing of Thompson's social media engagement, coinciding with his signing with the Heat, has drawn attention, as he is not typically known for publicly debating his career achievements online. The specific reference to avoiding "empty stats" on a "bad team" was not directly part of the initial argument, and it is understood that Thompson was not criticizing the Warriors organization, either past or present.