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Will Klay Thompson join the Dallas Mavericks? The first glance shows: yes

When Klay Thompson is in good shape, when his guards are down, when the therapeutic properties of basketball have brought him to his center, a reservoir of appreciation and relaxation – that's when the paper airplanes come out.

“Okay, to takeoff,” he said as he rose from his seat after his postgame press conference to fly the box score he had aviation-equipped. He was happy with his trajectory and his speed. “Oh, look at that. F-16. Pretty.”

A fitting performance after a 120-109 victory over Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs, a successful start to Thompson's Mavs era in front of a national television audience. A sequence in the third quarter underscored the fluidity of his introduction to Texas. Luka Dončić saved a rebound from a Wembanyama miss and dribbled down the right side of the pitch in transition. A trailing Thompson jogged down the left side and entered a pass from Dončić to the right.

Three-ball. Left wing. Squirt. Like riding a bike.

Thursday's result: 22 points on 7 of 13 shots, including 6 of 10 from 3-point range. He was efficient and comfortable in his 26 minutes. For good measure, he added seven rebounds and three steals.

“From the experience I've had,” Thompson told reporters after the game, “you can never be too high throughout the regular season. “We have really big goals. So a nice home win won’t satisfy us.”

His specialty is the transition 3. That means the hallmark of his Hall of Fame career for most of basketball history is a bad shot.

Since 2011, Thompson has rejected joyful fast-break layups for deep, high-variance daggers. Nowadays it's normal to shoot a 3-pointer while pushing the ball upfield with a numerical advantage. That's because Thompson, along with his superstar backcourt mate in Golden State, reshaped basketball paradigms with their devastating 3-point shots on the move against retreating defenses. Nothing is more poignant for Klay Thompson than defying decades of basketball wisdom by running to the crease and looking for a chance to throw it from 25 feet.

For this reason, a familiar symbolism, even poetry, exists in Thompson as an outsider. This decision he made, the decision to sign with Dallas, feels a bit like a low-percentage swing, a lift in which the risk of failure is as great as the triumphant success.

How come? To succeed, he must do in Dallas what he couldn't and wouldn't do in the Bay Area. Only with more pressure for an immediate return, without the mercy he has accumulated from previous exploits, in an environment that could potentially clash with his ethos.

But this is Klay Thompson we're talking about. The eye-catcher. The tough shooter. Owner of Rancho Santa Margarita's largest marbles ever. Who saved a dynasty. Their legacy includes amazing achievements. Thompson never hit a shot he couldn't make. Never played a game he couldn't win. I've never heard a doubter he couldn't silence.

It wouldn't be Thompson if it weren't shocking. If he didn't make you hold your breath before releasing him in agony or ecstasy.

Thursday evening in Dallas was full of ecstasy.

“Just a great feeling,” Thompson told reporters afterward. “You rarely experience something for the first time. Experiencing that and hearing the crowd cheer was truly an experience and I will cherish this moment for the rest of my life.”

The Golden State rebel, who has spent his career making the trigger look attractive, took the harder route. At the age of 34, at the end of his career, he left the basketball palace he had built. And he didn't return to his native Southern California, where his family and the Los Angeles Lakers awaited him with open arms. No. Thompson immersed himself in Texas. He rose in the rankings in the West by venturing south. Mining for former glory in a foreign land.

“If you ask any of us,” Kyrie Irving said at media day last month, “we feel like we've gotten better as a team.” We've gotten better as a group with leadership and experience, especially in the championship phase. … I feel like our dreams can come true because he's here now. He has added great value to our championship ambitions.”

To anyone who's been paying close attention to the last few seasons, this sounds both plausible and worrying. Like a transition 3 late in a close game.

Because Irving might be right. The hug from Dallas might be what he needed. The spirit they have developed, the protection the organization offers its stars from the demands of their status, the general open friendliness of Texas can be warm enough to put a mind at ease. And that seems to be exactly what Thompson needs.

Of course, it could work, as his regular season debut with Dallas suggested. The Mavericks are the reigning Western Conference champions for a reason. And Thompson, the Ideal of him fits perfectly with what they want to do. Dončić will pay attention to him. He seemed comfortable in his role as a co-star, delivering the many intangibles that allow him to be at his best. And his new superstar cohorts seemed suitably eager to welcome him into the fold.

“Luka makes the game easier not only for me but for everyone in this arena,” Thompson said in the on-court interview on TNT. “The gravity he demands. His passing skills are unmatched. And I'm here to help him be one of the greatest. We know it's his team. The show runs through him. But it takes the whole team to get where we want to go.”

However, Thompson's ability to perform well and contribute to winning was never an issue. The question is how he, and now Dallas, handles it when he doesn't play well. Because if the last few years are any indication, some nights he won't.

There was little Ideal for Thompson since June 2019. He is trying through sheer willpower to recapture the level that was taken away from him in his prime. Five years of self-exploration, the battle of faith with reality. He spent twice as much time trying to save his summit than on it. The result was more moments of dissatisfaction shouting at people about four rings than moments of hypnotism.

What he managed to do after missing two and a half seasons – after tearing his ACL in the 2019 NBA Finals and tearing his Achilles tendon in November 2020 – took enough of the pressure off him. He won a championship. He averaged more than 20 points in consecutive seasons. With 301 three-point throws in a season, he set the record of his career with a hit rate of 41.2 percent.

But if you know anything about Thompson, that was just confirmation of his inner idiot. Credit for believing he's still Klay.

What happens if that doesn't work? What if his defiance, his love of challenge, led him astray this time?

It's a daunting proposition. Because one thing is for sure: so many people love Klay Thompson. Dallas got a glimpse of its generational charm on Thursday.

“Blue is my favorite color,” he said. “And Mav’s blue looks good on me.”

Those who know him best truly want Thompson to succeed and be fulfilled. It just feels right when Thompson is free. His fame gave him the unspoken permission to sing like no one was listening and dance like no one was watching. But it also makes it harder to witness the toll his fight can take.

Thompson didn't want to give up his role with the Warriors. Coming off the bench, watching the games, playing a smaller role in the offense – none of it seemed acceptable to Thompson, a right to refuse that he earned. There were moments when he seemed to understand and even accept his new existence. But he would find his way back to the Rebellion. Twice, with the Warriors' season on the line, he looked for his former self and came up empty: 3 of 29 in Golden State's final two elimination games.

Now he's part of a Mavericks team that's come so close to a title that they've smelled the Moët. He'll likely face tougher defenses in bigger situations, with bigger stakes than a play-in game in Sacramento.

Thompson left because he didn't feel the love he deserved from the Warriors. He left to escape the taunting presence of his heritage. To find rejuvenation in a new beginning, embedded with those who believe in the Klay he seeks to summon. But he retreated to the safety of two ball-dominating superstars in Irving and Dončić, who have historically been characterized by volatility.

Most hope this works for Thompson. He deserves this to happen. But like a stop-and-pop triple from above the break on the wing, that may not be the case. And if a transition 3 is missed, it will only highlight the easier, safer, high percentage shot that wasn't taken.

But this is Klay Thompson we're talking about. He is always ready to take that shot.

(Top photo: Sam Hodde / Getty Images)

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