Klay Thompsonof theGolden State Warriorsis the second-best shooting guard in the NBA — if not the best off guard in the league this season — but whether he makes the 2015 NBA All-Star team remains questionable.
On Thursday evening, the 2015 NBA All-Star starters were announced on TNT with Thompson’s backcourt mate,Stephen Curry, being named as the leader in All-Star votes. The other four players joining Curry as West All-Star starters wereKobe Bryantof the Los Angeles Lakers,Blake Griffinof the Los Angeles Clippers,Anthony Davisof the New Orleans Pelicans andMarc Gasolof the Memphis Grizzlies.
The league’s coaches will choose who they want to see as All-Star reserves this season, voting on two backcourt players, three frontcourt players and two wildcards. The results will be announced Jan. 29 on TNT’s sports segment, Inside the NBA.
Per tradition, the basketball world’s most entertaining analysts —Shaquille O’Neal,Kenny Smith,Charles Barkleyand Ernie Johnson — gave their take on who should make the 2015 All-Star team reserves, and Klay Thompson was among the names the foursome came to a consensus on.
Here are the crew's All-Star reserve picks:pic.twitter.com/fCrPioKxPg
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT)January 23, 2015
But with the Western Conference littered with so many All-Star caliber guards on teams sitting above .500 (e.g.Mike Conley,Monta Ellis,Russell Westbrook,Damian Lillard,James Harden,Chris Paul), does Klay Thompson even stand a chance at seriously being considered by the league’s coaches?
After helping Team USA win thegold medalat the FIBA World Cup and earning afour-year, $70 millioncontract extension, Thompson is one of the top-scoring players in the NBA, averaging a career-high 21.9 points on a career-high 47.2 percent clip; in addition, he’s averaging 3.6 rebounds, a career-high 3.1 assists, a career-high 1.3 steals and a career-high 0.9 blocks.
Among guards that have played 39+ games, he’s fifth in Offensive Rating (113.9) and sixth among guards in Defense Rating (96.1) with a career-high 21.84 PER. Under the same criteria, his effective field goal percentage of 56.3 is good enough for 10th, his true shooting percentage of 60.1 is ranked fifth and his +/- of 11.4 is second behind Curry.
Long story short — Klay Thompson, in his fourth year in the NBA, is having a career season. He’s alsohighly regardedby NBA coaches, who appreciate him not only for his distinguished shooting prowess, but also for his improving defensive ability andhigh character personality.
But going back to the other Western Conference guards aforementioned, all of them have one major connective attribute that sets them apart from Thompson — each is themost important playerin his respective starting backcourt and thereforecentral to his team’s success.
So while Thompson may be a great player — arguably now anelite level player in the NBA— the fact of that matter is that he’sstill just second to Curryand, by the same logic, not as crucial to the team’s success and/or on the same level as his fellow Splash Brother.
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That’s in no way taking away from the player that Thompson has grown to be, nor his importance to the team — he’s most definitely one of the reasons why the Warriorssit atop the league standingswith the NBA’s best record of 34-6.
But is Thompson more important Curry? IsWesley Matthewsmore important to the Portland Trailblazers than Damian Lillard?Patrick Beverleyover Harden?J.J. Redickover CP3?Tony Allenover Conley? WhoeverScott Brooksdecides to play next to Russell Westbrook over Russell Westbrook? No.
With Kobe Bryant expected to miss the rest of the season with atorn rotator cuffin his right shoulder andLaMarcus Aldridgeto receive surgery on atorn radial collateral ligamentin his left thumb, Thompson may yet see himself an All-Star this season should NBA commissioner Adam Silver choose him as a replacement…
But that’s exactly how Thompson should be selected for the All-Star team — as a replacement, not by the coaches’ vote.
Next: Warriors Have Ultimate Home Court Advantage
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