Thompson played in his first game with his new jersey number.
The Dallas Mavericks lost 102-107 to the Utah Jazz in their 2024-2025 NBA preseason game at the American Airlines Center in Dallas on Nov. 11 (ET).
The game marked a new beginning for one star. Klay Thompson, a member of the Golden State dynasty, opted to move to Dallas this summer. It’s his first move in 13 years.
Thompson, who wore No. 11 in Golden State, will now wear No. 31. The number 11 is the number of another Dallas star, 파워볼 Kyrie Irving.
Thompson made his debut to raucous cheers, but he was nervous and missed his first three shots in the first quarter. However, he got his first points in Dallas at the start of the second quarter when he came off a screen from Daniel Garford and drained a three-pointer.
Thompson, who attempted five 3-pointers and made three in his Dallas debut, finished with 10 points and three assists in 18 minutes. Even with more than a decade of NBA experience under his belt, the first game in a new uniform was bound to be nerve-wracking.
“I haven’t been that nervous since Game 1 of the 2015 Finals,” Thompson said. It felt good to go out there and play and relax, it was a new experience. I’ve been somewhere for a long time and I’m in a new environment and it felt natural. It felt really good to finally put the uniform on.”
Head coach Jason Kidd said: “There were a lot of positives to take away from Clay Thompson’s performance. He’s got a great look, but he’s never rushed. We trust him to make the right decisions,” said head coach Jason Kidd.
In his prime, Thompson was one of the best offensive players in the league. In addition to being an all-time great shooter, he was also a key contributor to Golden State’s defense. However, after suffering two major injuries, his defensive performance dropped significantly. In fact, some would argue that Thompson’s defense was even negative.
In addition to Thompson, Dallas has other solid scorers in Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. Thompson can focus more on defense. He aims to regain his former reputation on defense.
“When you have offensive players like Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, it’s nice to be able to focus on defending the opponent. I want to get rid of the idea that I’m not the same defender I used to be, because I truly believe I can be, and I’m excited to prove people wrong.”
Dallas has preseason games against the Clippers and Milwaukee remaining. After that, the Mavs open the regular season on Aug. 25 against San Antonio.
