Mavs coach Kidd shares advice he gave Klay before Warriors game originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Klay Thompson, the Warriors and Dub Nation prepare for an emotional day Tuesday at Chase Center.
The veteran guard returns to the Bay Area to face his former team for the first time since joining the Dallas Mavericks during the offseason, and Golden State will pull out all the stopsincluding a pre-game ceremony and commemorative gift for fans, to honor the franchise legend.
Thompson will be ready for anything, and Mavericks coach Jason Kidd revealed as much in an interview with 95.7 The Game Morning Roast Monday that he recently spoke with Thompson about the big game.
“We talked the other day about this opportunity,” Kidd told Bonta Hill and Joe Shasky. “It really doesn’t happen often when you leave a team that you’ve been with your whole career. Having the opportunity to come back and play in the house that he built, with Chase (Center), and also the excitement and the championships in Oakland at the Coliseum I just understand it’s going to be an emotional two days here when you talk about today with practice and then tomorrow’s game.
“And so my thoughts (for him) were just to enjoy it and accept it and have fun with it.”
Thompson spent 13 years with Golden State after the Warriors selected him with the 11th pick in the 2011 NBA draft. His new coach, Kidd, 51, actually played against Thompson and his longtime teammate from the Warriors star Steph Curry for two seasons before the Hall of Fame guard retired after the 2012-13 season and knows how special the Splash Brothers duo was.
“They are definitely one of the best duos,” Kidd shared. “You’re talking about the Splash Brothers. Just the uniqueness of how they played the game, how they played for each other and helped each other achieve the highest goals and that’s winning a championship.
“For two of the best shooters of all time, being on the same team is unique in itself, but they loved to play, they knew how to win, they learned how to win. And so, yes, this combination will fit as one of the best combinations in the NBA.
For the first time on Tuesday, the iconic duo that many consider the greatest backcourt in league history will face off in what should be an emotional evening in the Bay.
