Giannis on Klay Thompson’s 38-point Game: ‘It’s Almost Like We Forgot Who He Was’

Golden State Warriors star Klay Thompson had his best performance of the season in Saturday’s 122-109 win over the Milwaukee Bucks, recording 38 points, six rebounds and five assists. 

The Bucks had a difficult time covering the five-time All-Star, and Giannis Antetokounmpo told reporters after the game that it was “almost like we forgot who he was” because they hadn’t played him a while. 

The Bucks played the Warriors back in January and won 118-99. Thompson finished that game with just 11 points, but it was his third game back from injury, and he was on a minutes restriction at that point.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr also shared his thoughts on Thompson’s performance following Saturday’s game, saying he thought the veteran “just let the game come to him early.” He added that it felt like Thompson was taking better shots and getting better looks on Saturday. 

Thompson himself said after the game: “That one felt good.” 

The 32-year-old entered Saturday’s game in a post-All-Star break slump, averaging 15.8 points on 36.9 percent shooting in five games. He was also making just 29.7 percent of his shots from beyond the arc.

Thompson appears to finally be returning to form after a two-year absence due to a torn ACL and a torn Achilles that kept him out for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons, respectively. Entering Saturday night, he was averaging 16.8 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists while shooting 40.5 percent from the floor and 35.6 percent from deep in 21 games. 

Thompson’s performance on Saturday reminded everyone of how much of an impact he made for the Warriors from 2014-19, when he earned five straight All-Star selections and helped the team win three NBA titles. 

If he can continue to play as well as he did on Saturday, the Warriors will be one of the most feared teams in the NBA once Draymond Green and James Wiseman make their highly anticipated returns to the court. 

The Warriors are tied with the Memphis Grizzlies for second in the Western Conference with a 46-22 record. Considering they’re 7.5 games behind the first-place Phoenix Suns, they’ll be battling for that second-place spot as the regular season winds down.