Klay Thompson annoyed by 'ridiculous question' about first Mavericks season

Klay Thompson broke up the Splash Brothers because he didn't want to come off the bench for Steve Kerr and the Golden State Warriors. The five-time All-Star split from Stephen Curry to chase his fifth championship ring on the Dallas Mavericks, who were coming off an NBA Finals run behind Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

MORE: Klay Thompson says beating Warriors ranks 'up there' among his favorite wins

Thompson's first season in Dallas was completely upended in February when general manager Nico Harrison did the unthinkable and traded Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for a below-market-value haul of Anthony Davis, Max Christie and the Lakers' 2029 first-round pick. Davis injured his groin in his Mavericks debut, and Irving tore his left ACL less than a month later.

Instead of returning to the Finals, the Mavericks are faced with an uncertain future after failing to make the playoffs in a 120-106 play-in defeat to the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night. Thompson scored 18 points as the sidekick to the hobbled Davis, who still managed to score a game-high 40 points.

Afterward, Thompson was asked if he would have agreed to a sign-and-trade deal to join Dallas on a three-year, $50 million contract. The 35-year-old was not interested in any second-guessing, calling the question "ridiculous."

"Don't do this to me. Don't do that to me. Don't do that," Thompson told reporters. "That's kind of a ridiculous question because I don't own a time machine, and I don't believe in going back or looking back. If I did that my whole career, I would not be where I'm at, and I wouldn't have been able to persevere through two really hard injuries.

"I'm here in Dallas, and I enjoyed my time. And I'm looking forward to the future."

Klay Thompson was asked if he would've made the same decision to join the Mavs last summer knowing what he knows now:

"Don't do this to me. Don't do that to me. Don't do that. That's kind of a ridiculous question because I don't own a time machine & I don't believe in going back…
— Mike Curtis (@MikeACurtis2) April 19, 2025

Thompson reflected on his "tumultuous" first season with Dallas in which injuries had the team "down to eight, nine guys at one point." Davis returned in time to help the Mavs finish 10th in the Western Conference and qualify for the play-in tournament. Wednesday's 120-106 road win against the Sacramento Kings earned them Friday's trip to Memphis to try and win the West's eighth seed.

It will be Thompson's second straight season without playoff basketball. Meanwhile, his former team, the seventh-seeded Warriors, take on the second-seeded Houston Rockets in one of the more intriguing first-round series.

"It sucks. It really sucks, but I'm really proud of every man in this locker room," Thompson said. "They show up to work every day. We try to do the right thing every day. We even started this past offseason in California with minicamps, and we had a couple days of just bonding. I think we can do that this summer and get some really good momentum going into next season."

Klay Thompson on how he sums up the season:

"Wow. Tumultuous. I think we persevered. We were down to 8, 9 guys at one point. We held up the fort & got into the Play-In & gave ourselves a shot to get to the playoffs. It sucks. It really sucks, but I'm really proud of every man in…
— Mike Curtis (@MikeACurtis2) April 19, 2025

Klay Thompson annoyed by 'ridiculous question' about joining Mavericks

By Joe Lago | Apr 19, 2025