After being with the Golden State Warriors for the past 13 years, Klay Thompson will be wearing a new jersey in the NBA for the first time, the Dallas Mavericks.

This brought many difficulties and challenges. Thompson not only had to forget old habits that had existed for more than 10 years, but also got used to the new team’s personality and playing style from scratch.

During Media Day before the new season, Klay Thompson was asked about the difference in playing style between the Golden State Warriors and the Dallas Mavericks.

“ Golden State’s offense revolves around players running and moving the ball a lot. Here, it’s all about Luka Doncic, who is a great playmaker, ” Dallas’ $50 million signing said.

ESPN’s in-depth stats show that Klay Thompson averages 5.6 successful off-ball moves, bringing in 6.2 points per game in the 2023-24 season.

Klay’s numbers alone are almost double what the entire Dallas team has (3.6 situations and 3.2 points), showing how big the difference is in playing style and style between the Warriors and the Mavericks.

“Having trained and tried out Luka for the past few days, I have been really impressed with his ability to develop and create.

“If we talk about pick-and-roll, Luka is probably one of the best names in the NBA. Opponents will be completely attracted to him and shooters like me will benefit with more space,” said Klay Thompson.

Moving off the ball to create space and shoot is what Thompson has done in Golden State for over 10 years. Now in Dallas, he will have to “stand by” more, waiting for Kyrie Irving or Luka Doncic to make plays and then receive the ball and shoot.

“It took me some time to get used to the new attacking system and style of play, but luckily the new season officially starts in less than 3 weeks.

I haven’t focused on pre-season friendlies for a long time, but the upcoming friendlies will be extremely important for me to practice my playing style, get used to the tactics and new teammates ,” the former Warriors player added.

It’s not easy to change a decade-old habit, but if successful, Klay Thompson will bring the perimeter firepower the Dallas Mavericks desperately need.

He will play the role of a new threat that opposing defenses need to pay attention to in order to contain, which is not easy when Dallas has two excellent players in Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

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