Warriors' Thompson prefers winning over being an alpha dog
Despite his relatively slow start to the 2015-16 season, Golden State Warriors swingman Klay Thompson is still one of the top 25 players in the league and, with larger offensive responsibility, could be a go-to guy for a number of franchises.
But Thompson prefers his current role with the Warriors -- the second banana to the supernova that is Stephen Curry, and the third wheel when Draymond Green has it going -- over bolting elsewhere and putting up bigger numbers but not winning as much.
In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, Thompson said he wants him and Curry to break the all-time record for starts by a backcourt duo, which is currently held by the Detroit Pistons' legendary backcourt of Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars:
“That would be pretty cool,” Thompson said. “It would show that we could both be successful together for a long time. But that’s a long ways away.”
Thompson then went on to say he would rather win in a smaller role than lose in a larger one:
“Winning is so much fun, man,” Thompson said. “It’s one thing to put up numbers and be the top guy on a team and it’s another thing to sacrifice and be on the best team in the NBA. I’ll take the latter every time. We have a lot of guys in this locker room who could be franchise players for other teams. That doesn’t matter. At the end of the day people are going to remember championships. That’s what it’s all about.”
The collective selflessness the Warriors has arguably been the biggest key to the team's vast success over the last couple of seasons. From Thompson and Green accepting smaller roles rather than seeking out being franchise players, to Andre Iguodala and Andrew Bogut accepting being benched for younger, developing players, the Warriors' ethos is revolves around sacrificing for the good of the team.
(h/t Uproxx)
