One of the worst parts about growing up watching your favorite sports players is when their skills begin to decline after age and injuries have taken its toll.
Father Time remains undefeated and for many Warriors fans, this is the case for legendary shooting guard Klay Thompson, who — let’s be honest — hasn’t been the same since that second knee injury.
Fans can be overly demanding and fickle at times, but it’s not just them who have noticed the beginning of the end for the four-time NBA champion.
ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith is also seeing what we’re all seeing.
Stephen A. Smith Says Klay Thompson Is Washed
Recently, Stephen A. Smith took to ESPN’s “First Take” to discuss the Warriors and their slump, and one of the biggest talking points for Smith was Klay Thompson and how he might be washed up at this point in his career.
“I do think that we’ve reached the point in time where somebody has to put Klay Thompson on notice,” said Smith. “My brother, you look like you have slipped tremendously. You said coming into this season that this would be the most important offseason and the most important preseason of your career”
“Klay Thompson is shooting 42.3 percent from the field. Klay Thompson is shooting 34.2 percent from three-point range,” Smith continued “If Klay Thompson isn’t shooting the ball at an elite level, what use is there for him any longer?”
Thompson’s scoring average of 14.4 is well below his career average of 19.7 and the lowest since his rookie season in 2011-12.
Stephen was clearly not impressed with Thompson’s play so far into the season, especially after Klay tried to adopt that underdog mentality. He even went on to say that Klay has regressed, and is no longer the same marksman that he once was.
“The Klay Thompson that we’re seeing right now, Windy [Brian Windhorst], I don’t recognize him.”
Entire Golden State Core Aging Out
Thompson, 33, has been on a downward spiral but that can be said for almost the entire star core of Golden State.
Whether it’s Klay with his spotty shooting performances — or Draymond Green constantly getting himself engulfed in suspensions and drama on the court which inhibits the team from building a championship chemistry — the Warriors do not seem to have an answer for their early season mediocrity.
This could be the moment when the Warriors’ championship window is finally closing, and after the Lakers made short work of them in the semi-finals last year in the playoffs, it doesn’t look like Golden State is having the bounce-back season they expected to so far.
Unfortunately, it looks like Klay Thompson is starting to give out, and as some of your building blocks begin to falter in your franchise, that normally means your dynasty begins to crumble.
These Curry, Thompson, and Green-centered Warriors teams will go down as some of the greatest in basketball history. Four rings and a 73-win season is a dynastic résumé for sure. But it seems that their time is up.
With burgeoning teams like OKC, Sacramento, San Antonio, and most importantly, Denver, taking the reins in the West, Golden State is starting to look like an afterthought for championship aspirations.
Perhaps either Klay will hang it up, or seek a change of scenery if things don’t improve with the Warriors.
