"I wanted to go with Dame" - Gilbert Arenas picks Klay Thompson over Steph Curry and Dame Lillard as most dangerous player when hot
Klay Thompson, Steph Curry and Damian Lillard are considered to be three of the deadliest shooters the NBA has ever seen. Thompson and Curry are known as the “Splash Bros.,” the best shooting backcourt in league history. Lillard’s 71 points against the Houston Rockets were just an example of his fiery touch.
Former NBA player Gilbert Arenas, however, named Thompson as the hardest to contain among them once he gets going. Here’s what “Agent Zero” had to say about the Golden State Warriors shooting guard:
“When hot, I pick Klay [Thompson]. Out of the three, it’s hard to control his hot because he doesn’t need the ball. He scored 60-something points with just 11 dribbles. When he gets hot, he’s more dangerous because he’s moving. It’s hard to double someone who is coming off screens.
“I wanted to go with Dame [Lillard] originally but Klay is hard. Even when he scored 60, he had Curry and KD [Durant] on the floor. But because he shoots so fast, once he gets hot, it’s so hard to control.”
On December 5, 2016, Klay Thompson put on a show that basketball fans around the world had never seen before. “Killa Klay” had 60 points in just 29 mind-boggling minutes, using just 11 dribbles to pour in his shots.
Thompson hit 21-33 shots, including 8-14 from behind the arc. He had 40 points in the first half in just roughly 18 minutes of play. When the five-time All-Star drilled his last basket, there was still 1:22 left in the third quarter.
The last Golden State Warriors player to hit at least 60 points was Rick Barry back in 1974 against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Steph Curry and Damian Lillard can also detonate on opponents on any given night. Calling Klay Thompson the hardest to contain when he gets hot isn’t his worst take since he started podcasting.
Klay Thompson’s 37-point third quarter left Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr in disbelief
On January 23, 2015, Klay Thompson carved his name into the NBA record books by torching the Sacramento Kings for a then-career-high 52 points. “Killa Klay” had a slow start to the game, making just 13 points in the first half.
Thompson’s first second-half points started around the 9:45 minute mark of the third quarter. From there, he just unloaded on the hapless Kings.
The Warriors' shooting guard scored 37 of the team’s 51 points, hitting 13-13 field goal attempts, including a mesmerizing 9-9 clip from deep.
Steve Kerr said this after the game:
“As many spectacular things as Michael (Jordan) did, which he did nightly, I never saw him do that."
Also read: Watch: Klay Thompson hits a fan in the head and knocks him down