Klay Alexander Thompson (born February 8, 1990)[1] is an American professional basketball player

for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is credited as one of

the greatest shooters in NBA history.[2][3] A three-time NBA champion with the Warriors, he is a five-
time NBA All-Star and a two-time All-NBA Third Team honoree. He has also been named to the NBA
All-Defensive Second Team.
Thompson is the son of former NBA player Mychal Thompson. He played college basketball for
three seasons with the Washington State Cougars, where he was a two-time first-team all-
conference selection in the Pac-10. He was selected in the first round of the 2011 NBA draft by
Golden State with the 11th overall pick. In 2014, Thompson and teammate Stephen Curry set a
then-NBA record with 484 combined three-pointers in a season,[4] earning the pair the nickname of
"the Splash Brothers."[5][6] In 2015, Thompson helped lead the Warriors to their first NBA
Championship since 1975, and was a key contributor in the Warriors' 2017 and 2018 titles. He
sustained an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals and missed
the entirety of the 2019–20 season.[7][8]

Contents

 1Early life

 2College career

o 2.1Freshman season

o 2.2Sophomore season

o 2.3Junior season

 3Professional career

o 3.1Golden State Warriors (2011–present)

 3.1.12011–12 season

 3.1.22012–13 season

 3.1.32013–14 season

 3.1.42014–15 season: First All-Star selection and NBA Championship

 3.1.52015–16 season

 3.1.62016–17 season: Second NBA Championship

 3.1.72017–18 season: Third NBA Championship

 3.1.82018–19 season
  3.1.92019–20 season

 4National team career

 5Player profile

 6Career statistics

o 6.1NBA

 6.1.1Regular season

 6.1.2Playoffs

o 6.2College

 7Accomplishments and awards

 8Personal life

 9See also

 10Notes

 11References

 12External links

Early life
Thompson was born in Los Angeles to Julie and Mychal Thompson. His mother was
a volleyball player in college for the University of Portland and University of San Francisco, while his
father was the first overall pick of the 1978 NBA draft.[9] When Thompson was two, he and his family
moved to Lake Oswego, Oregon, where he was childhood friends and Little League teammates with
fellow future NBA star Kevin Love.[10]
At age 14, the Thompsons moved to Ladera Ranch, California, where Klay graduated from Santa
Margarita Catholic High School in Rancho Santa Margarita in 2008.[1] In his junior season he was
named to the All-Area second team and to the Orange County third team. As a senior Thompson
averaged 21 points per game and led SMCHS to a 30–5 record and a Division III State
Championship appearance.[1][11] During the state championship, Thompson set a state finals record
with seven 3-pointers in a game.[11] He was named Division III State player of the year, League MVP,
first-team Best in the West, and an EA Sports Second Team All American.[1]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

High school / Commit

Name Hometown Height Weight
college date
 Rancho Santa Santa Margarita 6 ft 5 in 185 lb
Oct 2, 2007 
Margarita, California Catholic High (1.96 m) (84 kg)
Klay
Thompson
SG Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:

    ESPN grade: 95

Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 45   Rivals: 6 (SG); 51 (national)

Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.
Sources:

"2008 Washington State Basketball Commitment List". Rivals.com. Archived from the original on February 21, 2017.
Retrieved February 21, 2017.
"2008 Washington State College Basketball Team Recruiting Prospects" . Scout.com. Archived from the original on
February 21, 2017. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
"Washington State Cougars 2008 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on February 21, 2017.
Retrieved February 21, 2017.
"Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
"2008 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 21, 2017.

College career
Freshman season
Thompson started all 33 games as a freshman for Tony Bennett at Washington State University,
leading his team in 3-point field goal percentage and free throw percentage, and averaging 12.5
points per game. He was named to the Pac-10 All-Freshman Team and Collegehoops.net All-
Freshman Honorable Mention Team.

Sophomore season
Thompson began his sophomore season by leading the Cougars to the Great Alaska
Shootout Championship, being named its Most Outstanding Player after scoring a tournament single
game record of 43 points in its championship.[1][12] This was also the third highest single game point
total in WSU history.[1] After becoming the third fastest Cougar to reach 1,000 points, Thompson was
named to the All-Pac-10 First Team.[1][13] He earned Pac-10 Player of the Week honors twice during
the season and was chosen as a midseason candidate for the John R. Wooden Award.[1]
[14]
 Thompson finished the season averaging 19.6 points, good for second in the conference.[1]

Junior season
Thompson in February 2011

Thompson led the Pac-10 in scoring as a junior, again earning All-Pac-10 first team honors.[15][16] He
became just the third Cougar to win first-team all-district honors from the National Association of
Basketball Coaches twice in his career.[15] In addition, he became the first Cougar to be named Pac-
10 Player of the Week three times when he won the award for the week of Nov. 22–28,[17] extending
the record to four after the week of December 6–12.[18] Soon after, Thompson was named one of the
30 midseason candidates for the John R. Wooden Award.[19] In the 2011 Pac-10 tournament, he set
tournament records with 43 points and 8 three-pointers.[20] Thompson finished the season by setting
WSU's single season scoring record with 733 points.[21] He is WSU's 3rd all-time leading scorer.[15]
On January 18, 2020, Washington State retired the No. 1 that Thompson wore in college. He
became the second WSU men's basketball player to receive this honor, joining Steve Puidokas, and
the seventh WSU athlete in any sport whose number has been retired.[22]

Professional career
Golden State Warriors (2011–present)
2011–12 season

Thompson declared for the 2011 NBA draft after his junior season, being selected 11th overall by
the Golden State Warriors.[21] This pick of a guard prompted speculation that the Warriors would
trade starter Monta Ellis.[23] Warriors general manager Larry Riley praised Thompson for his shooting
ability and expressed confidence that Thompson would improve his defensive skills with new
coach Mark Jackson.[23]
The NBA did not select Thompson for the 2012 NBA All-Star Weekend Rising Stars Challenge.
However, in the four games after that decision, Thompson improved in all areas of basketball over
his current season averages: points per game (12.5 over 7.6), shooting percentage (54.3% overall
including 55.6% for three-pointers, up from 46.7 and 48.1), rebounds (2.8 from 1.6), assists (1.5 from
1.3), steals, and turnovers.[24] The Warriors traded Ellis to the Milwaukee Bucks on March 13, 2012.
[25]
 The following game, Thompson scored a season-high 26 points in a loss to the Boston Celtics.
[26]
 A week later, he exceeded his previous high with 27 points in a win over the New Orleans
Hornets.[27] As of mid-February 2012, Thompson played around 17 minutes per game,[24] but he
played an average 30 minutes per game during the next month.[28] At the end of the season,
Thompson was voted to the NBA NBA All-Rookie First Team.