Klay Thompson returned to the Bay Area for the first time as a member of the visiting team. The Dallas Mavericks guard/forward wasn’t treated as a villain. He was treated like a conquering hero.

Thompson, an integral part of the Warriors’ four NBA championships in his 13 years there, received the ol’ tip of the cap by an adoring faithful. The sold-out crowd during the NBA Cup game at Chase Center wore a boat captain’s hat as a salute to Thompson, who used to take boat rides to games when he played in the Bay wearing a captain’s hat. Thompson wore that same white cap during the last Warriors championship parade in 2022.

The sea of white caps certainly moved Thompson. You could see the emotion of his face during pregame introductions. There was a two-minute video tribute that rolled through his greatest moments as a Warrior, from the night he was drafted in 2011 to his Game 6 heroics in the playoffs to his record-setting 14 threes in one game to the championship runs in an eight-year span.

“It was a really cool experience. I appreciate the fans very much,” Thompson said after the game. “It was really cool to see the fans’ gratitude towards myself.”

Thompson deserved every bit of love he got from the Warriors organization and their loyal fan base. He grew up in Southern California and attended Washington State, but he made his mark in Northern California. He is a beloved sports figure in the Bay Area, and he will likely enter the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., as a Warrior.

Thompson was one half of the Golden State Splash Brothers — the greatest shooting backcourt in basketball history. His former Splash Bro, Steph Curry, gave him a big embrace before the game. Once the game started, they went at each other like two brothers playing on the family driveway.

On the Mavericks’ first possession, Thompson and Curry were matched up and Thompson drew a foul on Curry for two free throws. Moments later, Steph responded by dropping a 3-pointer in Klay’s face. This tit-for-tat went on for the entire game. Competition at its finest.

“That’s my road dawg. That’s my friend,” Curry said afterwards.

After a slow start, Thompson got hot and reminded Dub Nation what he used to be before the ACL tear and Achilles tendon rupture. Thompson rattled home six 3-pointers and finished with 22 points, making 7-of-17 shots from the field.

But in the end, his former Splash Brother had the last word. Curry scored the Warriors’ last 12 points in the final three minutes, finishing with 37 points (5-for-12 from 3-point range) to lead the Warriors to a 120-117 victory in a playoff-type atmosphere.

Thompson said it was “surreal” witnessing Curry’s late-game flurries as an opposing player.

“It was fun matching up with Steph,” he said. “It hurts to be on the other side of one of his flurries. Guy got hot at the end and made some ridiculous shots.”

It was a night Thompson will never forget, and Dub Nation went home happy.

The Golden State Warriors are back in the NBA Finals for the sixth time in eight years. The last team to pull off that feat was Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls.

The Warriors dynasty is definitely not over, and one of their main guys is making sure everyone knows it.

“After being counted out, dynasty being over, and all those things. To get back [in the NBA Finals] is fantastic. It’s a testament on hard work and dedication. This one feels great,” Warriors forward Draymond Green told the media after Golden State eliminated the Dallas Mavericks in five games in the 2022 Western Conference finals.

“I’ve always said all along, no one has proven they can beat us yet when we’re whole,” Green continued. “That is still the case.”

The Warriors have arguably the best trio in the NBA in 2022 conference finals MVP Steph Curry, comeback player of the year Klay Thompson, and first-team all-defensive player Green. The triumvirate has been powering Golden State’s machine for a decade, winning three NBA championships in a five-year span. The Golden Trio have an opportunity to add to their Hall of Fame credentials by winning a fourth title and adding the Boston Celtics to their hit list.

The Dubs being back in the Finals stage is one of the best stories of the NBA’s diamond anniversary season. Most basketball pundits thought the Dubs’ dynasty was done in 2019. Kevin Durant left for Brooklyn and Thompson was dealt with two devastating injuries. The last time the Warriors’ Big 3 were in the NBA Finals together, Thompson had to be helped off the floor after suffering an ACL tear. Thompson’s comeback was derailed the following year after he tore his Achilles’ tendon during the offseason. It took almost three NBA calendar years before Curry, Green, and Thompson were finally reunited on the court, but once they were whole again the Warriors became the Warriors again. Just like Bruce Wayne became the Dark Knight again after climbing out of the pit.

Golden State finished with a 53-29 regular-season record and earned a No. 3 seed in the West. Even though the Warriors didn’t finish ahead of Phoenix or Memphis, they were clearly championship contenders and used the regular season as a warm-up act for a big playoff push.

“I can’t say coming into this season that we’ll be in the NBA Finals, but we always believe with us three we have a chance,” Green said.

Green and the rest of the Warriors understood the bigger picture. They know what it takes to win a championship, and their mindset has always been that they’re still one of the best teams, if not the best, as long as they avoid the pitfalls of an 82-game grind.

“Most teams in the NBA just aren’t that good,” Green said. “You can win games in the regular season, that means nothing. We understand that. We don’t chase wins during the regular season, we chase improvement during the regular season.”

The Warriors posted a 42-17 record prior to the All-Star break, but faded down the stretch and went 11-12 without Green and Curry. Green suffered a lower back injury in January, while Curry sprained his ankle in March that forced him to miss the last month of the regular season.

Green told Yahoo Sports’ Vincent Goodwill that the last two years have been “miserable.” Despite being cast aside like an aging rock band, Green and the Warriors never wavered and stuck with the plan. The plan was to lean on Curry’s offense and Green’s defense while Thompson worked his way back into the rotation, and prepare Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole for bigger roles.

The constant figure in the Warriors’ rehabilitation was Curry. The NBA’s all-time leader in 3-pointers — who has put together back-to-back MVP-worthy seasons — said the team never lost faith despite a mountain of injuries and an overhauled roster, understanding the difficulty of the climb to the top after falling off it.

“I think internally we are all extremely proud of what it took to get back here. Yeah, it’s definitely sweet based on what we went through,” Curry said.

Curry believes the Dubs started climbing out of their two-year dark hole late in the 2021 season, winning 15 of 20 games and making the play-in game. Even though the Warriors lost both play-in games, the foundation was established for the next season.

Thompson returned to the lineup in January after two arduous rehab seasons from ACL and Achilles surgeries. In 32 games this season, Thompson averaged 20.4 points per game and shot 42% from the field. Those numbers are just a shade under what he averaged (21.5 PPG and 46.7% FG) in 2018-19 when he played 78 games.

Thompson is still not completely back to All-Star level, but the old Klay is starting to return as we get deeper into the 2022 playoffs. He punctuated the Warriors’ domination of the Mavericks in the conference finals with 32 points in the series-clinching Game 5, including eight 3-pointers. After the game, Thompson was just grateful to be back on the big stage after missing two full seasons.

“I’ve dreamt about this every day,” Thompson said about being back in the NBA Finals.

“I got really in touch with music [during rehab],” he added. “It would help me through a lot of those sessions. Just the appreciation of moving my body again. I thought about those days I couldn’t run or jump, how lucky we are to do what we do.”

Green, Curry, Thompson and Andre Iguodala are in rarified air in NBA lore. Advancing to six NBA Finals in eight years has only been done by legendary teams. Bill Russell’s Boston Celtics teams won eight straight titles from 1959-66. Jerry West’s L.A. Lakers teams made seven appearances in The Finals in nine years. Magic Johnson’s Lakers in the 1980s reached The Finals eight times during the decade. Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls teams won six championships in eight seasons in the 1990s.

As Curry previously stated, this year’s trip to The Finals is sweet because of it it took to get to this point. Only four players remain from their first championship roster in 2015. Key pieces on their title teams like Shaun Livingston, Leandro Barbosa, Harrison Barnes, and Andrew Bogut are no longer around. And Kevin Durant’s heart is no longer in San Francisco. It’s in Brooklyn.

The faces may have changed but the core players and the standard they set for themselves remain the same. And a fourth championship for the remaining members of Golden State’s “Death Lineup” will surely put them on a different stratosphere in the NBA pecking order.

“We’re happy to be [in the NBA Finals], but it would help our legacy a lot if we completed the mission and won the whole thing,” Thompson said.

The NBA’s 75th season kicked into high gear with three spectacular plays within a matter of days as the calendar flipped the page to 2022.

Memphis Grizzlies budding superstar Ja Morant is making a strong case for MVP, putting down his signature moment of the 2021-22 season with a two-handed block against the Los Angeles Lakers that defied the laws of physics. Morant has the Grizzlies firmly in the playoff race in the Western Conference and his unbelievable highlights are making Memphis relevant again.

Russell Westbrook’s L.A. homecoming hasn’t gone as well as many Lakers fans have hoped, but the veteran guard delivered a major statement on Jan. 17 MLK Day with an empathic dunk that shook up newly named Crypto.com Arena like an aftershock.

Klay Thompson made his triumphant return to the court on Jan. 9 after a nearly three-year absence due to two devastating injuries. Thompson being able to play basketball again is a minor miracle, considering he suffered an ACL tear during the 2019 NBA Finals and ruptured his Achilles tendon while rehabbing. Thompson scored 17 points in 20 minutes including two 3-pointers, but those numbers pale in comparison to the epic dunk he pulled off that blew the roof off Chase Center and blew up Twitter.

Check out the three best plays of the season, according to OMFB.

Ja goes above the rim for a two-hand block

What may be more impressive than Morant’s block was the way he hustled to get back on defense after turning the ball over. Instead of pouting and complaining to the officials, he sprinted back and erased his initial mistake.

The play started when Morant’s pass was deflected and intercepted by Lakers guard Avery Bradley. Bradley raced down the court and as he went up for a shot against a back-pedaling Desmond Bane, Morant suddenly came into the picture and snuffed the layup by using his 44-inch vertical. We’ve seen chase-down blocks before, many from big guys like LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Morant is listed at 6-3. His head went past the rim and nearly hit the backboard.

“That’s probably the best block I’ve ever seen live,” Grizzlies forward-center Jaren Jackson Jr. told ESPN. “Probably the best block I’ve ever seen, period. That was crazy.”

Klay punches return ticket

Klay Thompson admitted is not a dunker. But when an opportunity to throw down a massive rim-rattler presented itself on his first night back after a 31-month layoff, he went for it. Thompson freed himself by crossing over Jarrett Allen above the 3-point line and challenging Lauri Markkanen and Lamar Stevens at the basket.

“I will never forget the reception that Warriors fans gave us, especially myself,” Thompson said about returning to the court after missing the entire 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.

“Gosh it was fun and it was worth every single day of being away and in that squat rack or on that shuttle board and all the conditioning days. It was worth every single moment,” Thompson added. “I am not going to say equivalent to winning a championship. But man, it was pretty freaking close.”

Thompson’s much-anticipated return is not only good for the Warriors, but it is great for basketball fans.

Westbrook jams on Gobert

Russell Westbrook has been the butt jokes on social media and opposing arenas, and the trolling has gotten so bad the league had to step in. During a road game in Sacramento, the Kings’ DJ kept playing Foreigner’s “Cold As Ice” each time Westbrook missed a shot. Even Westbrook thought it was funny. But he got the message.

Westbrook got some form of revenge on his trolls by authoring a vicious dunk over three-time NBA defensive player of the year Rudy Gobert.

Westbrook is now in his 14th year in the league and doesn’t have the same bounce he had when he was racking up triple-doubles during his MVP season in 2017. But Westbrook loves proving people wrong. He has done it his entire basketball career. His dunk over Gobert is another silencer to his critics — for now.

“People don’t just want me going down the paint and seeing if I still have my legs,” Westbrook said. “But I know what I’m capable of and know what I’m capable of doing on the floor. When the moment presented itself with being able to finish strong at the basket, it’s still something I can do.”

When the NBA announced the 76 players on its landmark diamond anniversary team, it caused a major debate on all corners of the basketball universe. The list was voted on by a blue-ribbon panel consisting of current and former NBA players, coaches, executives, WNBA greats, sportswriters, and broadcasters. It was purely subjective. But nonetheless, there were some who felt disrespected.

Klay Thompson was one of them. The Golden State Warriors’ 6-foot-6 sharpshooter took to social media to voice his frustration. He wrote on Instagram, “Maybe I’m just naive in my ability to play basketball, but in my head, I’m Top 75 all time.”

Thompson was so bothered by the snub it lingered the followed day when he posted another message on social with a bit more context on why he should have been named to the all-time team. “Woke up this AM, still pissed about this stupid ass list. Ga damn I can’t wait to hoop again. Sick of the disrespect. Winning isn’t everything to some people like it is to me I guess,” Thompson wrote.

Thompson is absolutely right. There should have been more weight placed on playing for championships and winning championships, especially for the still-active players. Thompson is a three-time NBA champion and a crucial component of the Warriors dynasty from 2015-19. Based on that evidence, Klay more than deserved a spot on the 75th-anniversary team. If we want to debate Thompson’s individual accomplishments, his resume speaks for itself. He’s been named to the All-NBA team, made the all-defensive team, and holds the record for most 3-pointers made in a regular-season game (14), and his 11 threes in the 2016 playoffs is second behind Damian Lillard (12). Klay’s 11 3-pointers helped the Warriors stave off playoff elimination against the Oklahoma City Thunder. In that same 2016 season, Thompson pulled off one of the most amazing feats in terms of efficiency. He dropped 60 points on the Indiana Pacers in 29 minutes and used 11 dribbles.

The bottom line is you can’t tell the story of the NBA’s first 75 years without Klay Thompson. Thompson is one-half of the Splash Brothers. Klay and Steph Curry are forever linked. They are the two greatest shooters in the world. You can skip guys like Carmelo Anthony, Anthony Davis, and Damian Lillard, but you can’t revisit the history of the NBA without the Splash Brothers.

Some anti-Klay voters will point to the fact that Thompson took a backseat to Steph Curry and Kevin Durant in the Warriors championship runs. It’s a fair point. But here’s the counterpoint. Do the Warriors win three championships without Klay Thompson? The answer is, no.

When Durant was sidelined for much of the 2019 NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors, the Warriors were still competitive. After Thompson went down with a torn ACL in the series, it was game over. Curry had one of the greatest offensive seasons in 2020-21. But without his fellow Splash Brother, Curry and the Dubs could only go as far as the play-in games.

Here are the five players OMFB believes should have made the NBA 75th anniversary team and the five who should have been taken off the list.

Add these names to the all-time 75th-anniversary team:

Klay Thompson — Former Warriors coach Mark Jackson made the comment back in 2011 that Steph Curry and Klay Thompson are the greatest shooting backcourt in NBA history. Many scoffed at Jackson for making that bold statement on the air. Now, no one is debating Jackson anymore. Curry is widely regarded as the greatest pure shooter in basketball history, and his backcourt mate is clearly No. 2. Thompson and Curry are either at the top or near the top of the leaderboard for 3-pointers. They share the record for most 3-pointers made in a single postseason (98). “[Klay’s] a Hall of Famer, no question,” Warriors great Chris Mullin said to NBC Sports Bay Area. “His legacy is set in stone.”

Joe Dumars — If Curry and Thompson are universally regarded as the best shooting backcourt in history, the Detroit Pistons dynamic duo Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars are a solid second. Dumars, who played his entire career in Detroit, was a pillar of sportsmanship and one of the NBA’s greatest defensive players. Michael Jordan said Dumars was the toughest defender he ever faced. Dumars helped the Pistons make three NBA Finals appearances in six seasons, and was named NBA Finals MVP in 1989 when the Pistons swept the Los Angeles Lakers. Dumars was also a member of the gold-medal winning USA Basketball squad at the 1994 FIBA world championship. The Hall of Famer served as a mentor to NBA rookies and others for his classy demeanor and is the namesake for the league’s sportsmanship award.

Dwight Howard — If we’re going to have a real conversation about Dwight Howard’s credentials and qualifications on the NBA’s landmark list, you have to strip away all the antics on and off the court and the histrionic gestures. When it comes down to pure agility, power, physique, and vertical jump, the 6-foot-10, 265-pound Howard might be the most physically gifted center to play the sport. In the post-Shaq era and at the height of his powers, Howard was the dominant big man in basketball. He was a three-time defensive player of the year, took the Orlando Magic to the NBA Finals on his broad shoulders in 2009, was named to the All-NBA team eight times, and anchored the Redeem Team in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Howard played for a host of teams during his career while chasing a championship, finally earning that elusive chip in 2020 as a member of the L.A. Lakers. Even though Howard is still active, his basketball autobiography is pretty much written.

Tony Parker — Parker is part of the golden age of European superstars arriving in the NBA, a heralded group that includes Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, Manu Ginobili. Parker came into the NBA as a 19-year-old phenom and was instrumental in changing the way the San Antonio Spurs play. With Parker running point, the Spurs ditched the slow-moving two-headed center attack with Tim Duncan and David Robinson to a more up-tempo attack featuring Parker and Ginobili. Tony P’s contributions to the game go beyond statistics. He racked up 137 playoff wins as Gregg Popovich’s lead orchestrator and won four NBA titles. He was named 2007 Finals MVP after the Spurs swept LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers. But Parker’s biggest contribution on the court was his signature shot: the floater. Parker may not have invented the floater (or teardrop) but he nearly perfected it. Now, almost every point guard at all levels — high school, AAU, college, pros — has the floater in the paint in their bag.

Dennis Johnson — D.J. was underappreciated and underrated throughout his fantastic pro career. He was a second-round pick by the Seattle SuperSonics in 1976 (29th overall). Three years later, Johnson led the Sonics to their first and only NBA title and was named Finals MVP. He was traded to the Phoenix Suns in 1980 for Paul Westphal. Johnson was an All-Star in Phoenix and helped the Suns reach the Western Conference semifinals twice. In 1983, Johnson was traded to Boston where he thrived as the Celtics’ point guard and defensive stopper. Johnson was named to the NBA’s All-Defensive team nine times in his career. Johnson hounded Magic Johnson in an epic Lakers-Celtics NBA Finals matchup in 1984. Celtics beat the Lakers in ’84, and won it all again in 1986. The 1986 Celtics are considered one of the NBA’s greatest teams. Larry Bird said DJ was the best player he’s ever played with.

Remove these names from the 75th-anniversary team:

Carmelo Anthony — Carmelo will go down as one of the best scorers in NBA history. There’s no denying his ability to put the ball in the basket. But what can be debated is his ability to lead a team as the lead actor. His best years were spent in Denver, and the farthest his Nuggets got in the postseason was the conference finals. Carmelo also has never won an NBA MVP. Melo was part of the famed 2003 draft class that included LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh. At the time of this post, Melo is the only top-five pick from the 2003 draft without a championship ring. Even Darko Milicic has a ring.

Anthony Davis — AD and Dwight Howard are now teammates with the L.A. Lakers. If you do a side-by-side comparison of Davis’ career resume and Howard’s resume, Dwight has the clear edge. Davis won a championship in 2020 with the help of his good friend LeBron. Sans LeBron, AD couldn’t get a sniff of the NBA Finals. Davis is still in the prime of his athletic career, so his basketball diary is still being written. He’ll be a lock for the NBA’s 100th-anniversary team.

Damian Lillard — Lillard was another surprise selection on the diamond anniversary team. For all the spectacular plays Dame has made in the postseason (waving good-bye to Paul George in the 2019 playoffs after nailing the game-winning 3-ball was priceless), he has yet to get a taste of the NBA Finals. The closest Lillard got was in 2019 when the Portland Trail Blazers reached the conference finals, where they got swept by the Golden State Warriors. Much like Anthony Davis, Dame’s story is still being written. It’s not Dame Time, yet.

Chris Paul — Charles Barkley has repeated said that Chris Paul is the greatest leader in sports. Hmm. If CP3 is a great leader then why can’t he lead his teams to the conference finals and NBA Finals more often? Up until the 2021 season, Paul never got past the conference semifinals. Paul kept getting knocked out of the playoffs by his contemporaries — Tony Parker’s Spurs, Steph Curry’s Warriors. CP3 finally broke through by leading the Phoenix Suns to the NBA Finals in 2021. CP3 is an all-time great. There’s no denying his place history. But he’s more of a candidate for the top 100 than the top 75.

Dave DeBusschere — As much as we love a good bruiser or a glue guy on a championship squad, the inclusion of DeBusschere on the NBA’s golden anniversary team and diamond anniversary team was questionable at best. DeBusschere was probably the fourth-best player on the New York Knicks championship teams in the early 1970s. Playing in New York certainly aided his credentials.

Here’s the full list of the 76 players named to the 75th-anniversary team (listed in alphabetical order).

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Ray Allen

Giannis Antetokounmpo

Carmelo Anthony

Nate Archibald

Paul Arizin

Charles Barkley

Rick Barry

Elgin Baylor

Dave Bing

Larry Bird

Kobe Bryant

Wilt Chamberlain

Bob Cousy

Dave Cowens

Billy Cunningham

Stephen Curry

Anthony Davis

Dave Debusschere

Clyde Drexler

Tim Duncan

Kevin Durant

Julius Erving

Patrick Ewing

Walt Frazier

Kevin Garnett

George Gervin

Hal Greer

James Harden

John Havlicek

Elvin Hayes

Allen Iverson

LeBron James

Magic Johnson

Sam Jones

Michael Jordan

Jason Kidd

Kawhi Leonard

Damian Lillard

Jerry Lucas

Karl Malone

Moses Malone

Pete Maravich

Bob McAdoo

Kevin McHale

George Mikan

Reggie Miller

Earl Monroe

Steve Nash

Dirk Nowitzki

Hakeem Olajuwon

Shaquille O’Neal

Robert Parish

Chris Paul

Gary Payton

Bob Pettit

Paul Pierce

Scottie Pippen

Willis Reed

Oscar Robertson

David Robinson

Dennis Rodman

Bill Russell

Dolph Schayes

Bill Sharman

John Stockton

Isiah Thomas

Nate Thurmond

Wes Unseld

Dwyane Wade

Bill Walton

Russell Westbrook

Lenny Wilkins

Dominique Wilkins

James Worthy

Kawhi Leonard and Paul George team up in L.A. (Getty Images)

You know you’re big time when you can top an earthquake as the biggest news of the day. Just a little over two hours after a 7.1 magnitude quake rocked Southern California, Kawhi Leonard registered a major aftershock when he decided to come to the Los Angeles Clippers and brought another All-Star player with him.

The stunning announcement shifted the balance of power in the NBA. All of a sudden, the Clippers — long considered the JV team at Staples Center — became the favorites to win the 2019-20 NBA title and it evaporated dreams of a Lakers superteam. In the end, Kawhi wasn’t really interested in joining forces with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. He was more interested in creating his own dynamic duo across the hallway.

Sacramento may be the capital of California, but Los Angeles is now the epicenter of the basketball universe.

For a guy known around the league for being quiet, Kawhi sure knows how to communicate what he wants. Kawhi looked around the landscape to see who’d be interested in joining him in L.A. He reportedly tried Kevin Durant, but he was already set for Brooklyn. There were reports he tried to lure Kyrie Irving but Kyrie also had his sights set on Brooklyn. That’s when he turned his attention to another former Southern California native, Paul George. Kawhi laid the groundwork by talking to George about joining forces. Once PG13 was onboard, Kawhi then told the Clippers what he wanted. His message was: make it happen and I’m coming. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, coach Doc Rivers and general manager Lawrence Frank went to work, and with the help of legend Jerry West acting as yoda, the Clippers got a deal done with Oklahoma City to bring George to L.A. Once PG13 was in the Clipper fold, Kawhi said “no” to the Lakers and Toronto Raptors.

This is now the new NBA. Two stars surrounded by good role players.

When Durant decided to leave Golden State and take his talents to Brooklyn, the superteam era officially came to an end. And this is a good thing for the league because the Warriors simply had a significant competitive advantage during Durant’s three years in the Bay Area. They had arguably four of the top 15 players in the league all in the primes. It just wasn’t fair.

Now that the Warriors are down to three studs (two for now until Klay Thompson returns from his ACL injury), teams feel like they have a shot.

Kawhi saw what Durant went through in Golden State. He saw all the scrutiny KD endured for joining a superteam and he wasn’t about to walk into that same fire. Kawhi already earned two NBA championship rings and wasn’t interested in being handed a third.

The move may not have been popular in Laker Land but it definitely made it a lot more interesting for the NBA and basketball fans. The league is wide open.

The Clippers may be heavy favorites according to Las Vegas oddmakers but there are bunch of teams led by terrific tandems right behind them, all with legitimate shots at winning a championship. OneManFastbreak breaks down the best duos in the NBA:

Kawhi Leonard + Paul George (L.A. Clippers) – Kawhi and PG are considered the best two-way players in the NBA. Add pit bull guard Patrick Beverley to the mix and the Clippers may possess the most impenetrable defense in basketball.

LeBron James + Anthony Davis (L.A. Lakers) – Last we checked, LeBron is still pretty good. He’s coming off one of his worst seasons due to injury, but statistically LeBron is still a top-15 player when healthy. The same can be said about AD. When he’s healthy, Davis is arguably the best big man in the basketball and capable of producing astronomical numbers.

Steph Curry + Klay Thompson (Golden State Warriors) – The Splash Brothers have taken a bit of a hit recently due to injuries and tons of mileage from playing in five straight NBA Finals. But we’re not ready to count out the Splash Brothers.

James Harden + Russell Westbrook (Houston Rockets) – When Woj broke the story that Westbrook would be traded from OKC to Houston for Chris Paul and draft picks, a lot of basketball pundits immediately dismissed the Harden-Westbrook collabo as a desperate move by the Rockets. Talking heads are completely missing one important factor: friendship. Harden and Westbrook are very good friends off the court, so they will find a way to make it work on the court.

Damian Lillard + C.J. McCollum (Portland Trail Blazers) – One NBA executive said Lillard and McCollum are so good they can carry three dudes from the YMCA into the playoffs. Lillard and McCollum could have been in the Finals if Jusuf Nurkic didn’t break his leg.

Ben Simmons + Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers) – Simmons and Embiid are the Eastern Conference version of LeBron and AD. The Sixers came within a Kawhi Hail Mary bounce in Game 7 from reaching the conference finals. If Simmons adds a jumper and Embiid gets in better shape, Philly could reach the Finals for the first time since the Allen Iverson era.

Mike Conley + Donovan Mitchell (Utah Jazz) – The Jazz upgraded at point guard with the acquisition of Mike Conley from Memphis. The veteran gives budding superstar Donovan Mitchell a runningmate who can run the team, score if needed and defend his position.

Jamal Murray + Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets) – Jokic had a breakout season in 2019 as he established himself as one of the best centers in the Association. The 7-footer is a walking triple-double and the Nuggets run their offense through him. The Nuggets believe in Murray after signing him to a $170 million contract.

Kyrie Irving + Kevin Durant (Brooklyn Nets) – This dynamic duo should be higher strictly on star power. Because of Durant’s devastating Achilles injury, NBA fans will have to wait a year. Kyrie will have to shoulder the load until KD returns.

Klay Thompson was snubbed on the All-NBA team. (Getty Images)

Klay Thompson is a three-time NBA champion and has been to five straight NBA Finals. The Golden State Warriors swingman is regarded as one of the five best shooters in the world, and you can argue teammate Steph Curry is the only player in the world who can match his 3-point shooting prowess.

Thompson is also a terrific perimeter defender, oftentimes matched up against the opposing team’s best guard. And, oh by the way, Klay can score 60 points without taking more than 10 dribbles. How many guys in the league can say that? Probably none.

Despite having a basketball resume made for Springfield, Thompson was snubbed when the 2019 All-NBA teams were announced.

NBA media voted Curry, James Harden, Paul George, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic on the first team. The second team consisted of Damian Lillard, Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant and Joel Embiid. The third teamers were Russell Westbrook, Kemba Walker, Blake Griffin, LeBron James and Rudy Gobert.

You can make a case the writers got it right on the first and second teams, although the way Kawhi carried the Toronto Raptors in the 2019 Eastern Conference playoffs he probably deserves to be on first team.

The big debate is the players who made the third team. With the exception of Westbrook, you could easily swap out four spots.

As good as LeBron’s stats were during his shortened season with the L.A. Lakers, he didn’t make the playoffs so his insertion on the third team was more a lifetime achievement award. Gobert was more suited to be on third-team all-defense and there is no reason to have Griffin on any All-NBA team. But the player who got Thompson’s attention was Kemba. When Klay was told Kemba got in ahead of him, his eyes rolled. He tried to be nice by not completely dissing Kemba, but deep down Klay knows who’s the better player.

“When you go to five straight Finals, it takes more than a couple All-NBA guys,” Thompson said. “Do I think there are that many guards better than me? No.”

During Thompson’s appearance on ESPN’s The Jump, Tracy McGrady said to him, “Now I know you don’t care about being snubbed on the All-NBA team.” Klay replied with, “Oh, I cared.”

Here’s how the All-NBA teams should have looked:

First team: Guards — Steph Curry, James Harden. Forwards — Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard. Center — Joel Embiid.

Second team: Guards — Damian Lillard, Klay Thompson. Forwards — Giannis Antetokounmpo, Paul George. Center — Nikola Jokic.

Third team: Guards — Kyrie Irving, Russell Westbrook. Forwards — Draymond Green, LeBron James. Center — Rudy Gobert.

Thompson lost out on an extra $30 million on a potential deal this summer when he becomes a free agent. Instead of the supermax contract worth $221 million, Thompson would “only” get $191 million. Still not bad, but Thompson has earned the right to be called a superstar in the NBA and deserves to be paid like a superstar.

Klay is the only player who can fit into any system. His game suits all 30 NBA teams. KD, LeBron, Harden, Giannis and Kawhi all need the basketball the majority of time to be truly impactful. Klay doesn’t need to dominate the ball to dominate a game. He can do it the most efficient way. And he’s low maintenance. He plays hard every possession and does whatever it takes to win.

So for all the NBA writers who didn’t vote for Klay on first, second or third All-NBA, y’all need your credentials revoked.

Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson are struggling against the Cavs in the NBA Finals. (GETTY IMAGES)

You can analyze or overanalyze basketball games with all types of fancy analytics and metrics, but teams that win championships follow two basic formulas: score easy baskets and don’t give up easy baskets.

Basically, to speak in the language so millennials can understand, you want to score in the paint and protect the paint (if your hardwood court has a painted area, of course).

Conventional basketball has always been built on scoring inside, meaning dump the ball inside your biggest or tallest player. Aside from getting an easy hoop, this serves two purposes: 1) collapse the defense and open shots for other players, and 2) rewards big men for all the hard work they do inside. Remember the old Shaquille O’Neal line: “Feed the big dog if you want the big dog to protect the yard.”

It’s a proven fact that big men will work harder if they get their touches on offense, and it will inspire them to protect the basket on the other end of the court.

Shaq subscribes to the inside-out theory because that’s the way NBA championships were won. George Mikan’s Minneapolis Lakers played that way. Bill Russell’s Boston Celtics played that way. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s L.A. Lakers played that way. Hakeem Olajuwon’s Houston Rockets played that way.

In the post-Michael Jordan era, the NBA Finals have been dominated by two big men: Shaq and Tim Duncan.

O’Neal and Duncan have been a part of The Finals in 11 of the last 16 seasons, winning a combined nine titles.

There were a few exceptions to the rule. Jordan’s Chicago Bulls teams were mainly a jump-shooting team. But in the triangle offense, otherwise known as the triple post, Jordan was the post-up player. He didn’t post up in the traditional way, as in planting himself on the low block, but he posted up on the elbows or the pinch post. Dirk Nowitzki’s Dallas Mavericks 2011 championship team used the same concept. When the Mavs needed a bucket, they went to Dirk on the pinch post. And LeBron James didn’t start winning titles until he developed a post-up game when he was in Miami.

This bring us to the Golden State Warriors, the 2014-15 NBA champions.

The Warriors are a basketball anomaly. They are bucking the conventional thinking that you can’t win a NBA title primarily by shooting jump shots. Charles Barkley has repeated said on TNT’s “Inside the NBA” that jump shooting teams don’t win titles. Barkley should know this because his high-octane, 3-shooting teams in Phoenix lived and died by the jump shot in the playoffs.

Golden State’s offense is very similar to Barkley’s Suns. They’re built around the long-range shooting skills of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson — also known as The Splash Brothers. They don’t even have a pinch-post player. Everything flows through Curry and Thompson out in the perimeter.

But these Warriors are a different breed. Sure, they win games by shooting lights out from behind the 3-point line and running teams out of the gym. But what made them a 67-win juggernaut during the regular season was defense.

“I know there’s been all this talk this year, especially about the 3-point shot. Can you win shooting it?” Warriors first-year head coach Steve Kerr said. “There’s a lot of different styles that can work. You have to base it on your own personnel.”

Kerr added: “What really wins is a combination of great offense and great defense. We have the No. 1 defense in the league. We had the highest scoring team in the league. We were No. 1 in assists. We were No. 1 in field-goal percentage defense. When you get that combination then you’re going to be pretty good. Whether you’re shooting threes or twos it’s about the balance. To win a title you have to be able to make stops. You’ve got to string together stops at crucial times and you gotta find ways to score. With our depth and our talent we were able to do that and it turned into a special season as a result.”

Golden State arguably has three of the 10 best defensive players in the league. Thompson is an elite perimeter defender, Andrew Bogut is a beast in front of the rim, and Draymond Green finished second to Kawhi Leonard as the defensive player of the year. Add Harrison Barnes and Andre Iguodala into the mix and you can see why teams struggle to score against them.

Kerr has taken what Mark Jackson built and improved it. The Warriors have largely used a predominantly perimeter attack on offense and a switching defense on their way to the 2015 NBA Finals, using the same concepts installed by Jackson. Kerr has modified a few things here and there, but the Warriors have stayed true to form. They share the ball on offense and they use their speed and quickness to recover on defense. It’s a similar approach that powered the San Antonio Spurs to their fifth NBA title in 2014 with one huge difference. The Warriors don’t have a Tim Duncan controlling the paint on both ends.

Bogut starts at center but he rarely plays more than 20 minutes a game, and Kerr likes to play a smaller lineup down the stretch with Iguodala, Barnes and Green in the frontcourt to go along with Curry and Thompson in the backcourt. This makes the Warriors unique. It’s a style of basketball that court influence a whole generation of coaches and players. It’s comparable to the European League in which the focus is on dribble handoffs and pick-and-pops, and frontcourt players spend most of their time above the free throw line.

Before we crown Golden State as the next NBA dynasty, it needs to sustain this historic run. The Warriors were able to avoid the San Antonio Spurs and L.A. Clippers in the Western Conference, and they ran into a short-handed Cleveland team in The Finals.

The Cavs are a no-nonsense, gritty team that plays defense as if their lives depended on it. If they had Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, it would have been a totally different series.

Tristan Thompson and Timofey Mozgov punished the Warriors on the boards whenever Kerr went to his small lineup. And then there is LeBron. The four-time MVP averaged nearly 40 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists in The Finals, and he did all this while playing nearly 48 minutes a game.

The Warriors were able to end the Bay Area’s 40-year championship drought. Now, it’s about keeping that No. 1 ranking.

Kobe Bryant leads the NBA in scoring, averaging 27.5 points per game.

We’re a couple of weeks into the NBA season, and some fascinating storylines are already developing. Here are my picks for the top-10 developments and observations on the 2014-15 season so far.

1. The Rookies need time

Andrew Wiggins. Jabari Parker. Julius Randle. Marcus Smart. This was supposed to be the rookie class that made an instant impact and asserted itself as one of the best groups of all time. It’s still very early, but so far they look like, well, rookies. Randle unfortunately suffered a broken leg in his very first game, but the rest of the rookie class has been a little underwhelming. Parker still looks to be the favorite to round into form and win Rookie of the Year, but no one is a surefire future all-star just yet. Give them time.

2. Miami underrated

Don’t look now, but the Heat are pretty good without LeBron James. Endurance could be an issue, as two of their key players, Dwyane Wade and Luol Deng, are both injury prone and getting older. However, Miami has looked like a top-four seed in the East so far. Bosh has been spectacular, and Wade looks so rejuvenated that the Miami Herald even suggested that he’s all-around happier this season. We’ll see if it continues, but for now the Heat are overlooked and underrated.

3. Kobe Bryant leading league in scoring

Yes, he just set the all-time NBA mark for missed field goals, but there are some great players on that list. Great players shoot a lot. Meanwhile, a Kobe Bryant that many had written off as overpaid, selfish, injured, old, broken, etc. is playing like the Black Mamba of old. And through a few weeks, he’s leading the league in points per game.

4. Anthony Davis a top-3 player

The Anthony Davis hype train was at full steam all summer, and Davis is backing it up. Per ESPN statistics, Davis may actually be the best player in the league thus far this season. John Hollinger’s PER rankings — viewed by some as the best composite ranking of a player’s value and accomplishment — show Davis leading the NBA with a 35.79 PER. For reference, LeBron has never finished a season with a PER over 33.

5. Rajon Rondo giving Celtics options

Rajon Rondo’s comeback has been somewhat quiet, probably because his Boston Celtics just aren’t competitive. However, he is leading the league in assists, and his strong form is giving Celtics GM Danny Ainge options. Had Rondo come back and not been himself, the Celtics would have lost their most valuable trade asset and best player. Now, Ainge gets to make the decision everyone’s been waiting for: build around Rondo or trade him for a pile of assets.

6. We can’t predict the West

Here’s the thing about the West: the teams are so loaded with talent that the smallest changes can allow teams to seize opportunity—and big changes can shift the landscape dramatically. Because of the Spurs’ slow start, the Thunder’s injuries, and the Clippers’ inexplicable sluggishness, teams like the Kings and Suns appear to be playoff contenders, and the Grizzlies are leading the way as the most reliable team in the conference. Go figure.

7. Cleveland needs time

This is something we all knew deep down but wanted to overlook. It just seemed logical to crown the Cavaliers favorites. The Betfair preseason assessment did as much, giving Cleveland the top odds over the defending champion Spurs to win the Finals. But in doing so, they expressed caution. Analyst Nick Shiambouros noted that it would take time for the Cavs to get on the same page, and that more experienced teams might offer better value. Maybe we should have listened, because while Cleveland has shown dominant stretches of offense, they’re far from a polished product.

8. Philadelphia has more assets than we thought

Nerlens Noel has looked promising for Philly, but Tony Wroten has been a revelation. Wroten has always been a strong player, but these first few weeks starting for the Sixers while Michael Carter-Williams recovers from injury represent his biggest showcase yet. And he’s aced it. Wroten can and should be a starting point guard in the NBA, even earning a glowing write-up from Grantland that called him a “frenzied bundle of chaos” (in a good way) and a “raging dynamo.” He may also be turning Carter-Williams into a trade chip.

9. Klay Thompson might be NBA’s best shooting guard

James Harden is the popular choice for best shooting guard, which is a weak position in the league these days. Kobe Bryant’s resurgence is noteworthy, as is Wade’s, but Thompson is young, rapidly improving, and (unlike Harden) a great defender. He looks like he’s taking over the position.

10. Big men are back

Big men are making a bit of a comeback. Nikola Vucevic in Orlando suddenly looks like one of the best young players in the league; Jonas Valanciunas continues to improve in Toronto; Derrick Favors is finally living up to potential in Utah; Anthony Davis might be the MVP. And that’s just a few. It’s the year of the bigs, so far.

Warriors head coach Mark Jackson and guard Steph Curry talk strategy. (GETTY IMAGES)

When you have sharpshooters like Steph Curry and Klay Thompson on your roster, it’s hard to identify the Golden State Warriors as a defensive team. But somewhere beneath all the swishes and splashes, the Warriors have become a hard-nosed team that doesn’t mind rolling up its sleeves and getting dirty.

The stats won’t show it but the Warriors have actually played better defense than the San Antonio Spurs in their Western Conference semifinal series. You see Tim Duncan working hard to score against Andrew Bogut, you see Tony Parker’s signature teardrop blocked by Thompson, and he you see Kawhi Leonard struggling to post up against Curry.

Even the Golden State rookies are playing defense.

Forward Harrison Barnes wasn’t known as a great defender coming out of North Carolina, but he’s a good enough athlete to stay with quick guards and strong enough to hold his ground in the low post. Forward Draymond Green played for Tom Izzo at Michigan State, so playing defense comes naturally to him. In Game 2, Green had seven rebounds in 32 minutes. Center Festus Ezeli is raw, but head coach Mark Jackson won’t hesitate to play him in the fourth quarter.

The Warriors may not play lockdown defense like the Boston Celtics or Chicago Bulls, but they are making life very difficult right now for the Spurs.

It starts and ends with Bogut. The 7-foot Aussie is able to play Duncan one-on-one, which allows the rest of the Warriors to stay home and stay attached to the Spurs’ shooters.

Marcus Thompson II wrote this for MercuryNews.com

Warriors center Andrew Bogut was told before the series that he was on his own with Spurs star Tim Duncan, one of the greatest of all-time. Whatever happens, happens. But the help wasn’t coming.

To Bogut, that sounded like Australian for fun.

“I’m fine,” he said after totaling six points and 11 rebounds in Wednesday’s 100-91 Game 2 win. “He’s had games where he’s killed me, and I’ve had games where I’ve guarded him well. You’ve just got to battle against him.”

A major part of the game plan is to play straight up on Duncan. The Warriors don’t mind if he scores. They just don’t want to double-team him because that opens up avenues for the Spurs’ wealth of 3-pointer shooters. And Duncan is such a great passer, he can pick the Warriors apart.

So the Warriors are allowing Bogut — and rookie center Festus Ezeli — to take their medicine against San Antonio’s low-post specialist. He’s averaged 21 points and 10 rebounds the first two games. He’s shooting 42.9 percent (15 of 35).

Bogut is all but giving Duncan the midrange jumper. He’s using his size to keep Duncan from catching the ball deep and his shot-blocking ability to challenge Duncan’s array of post moves.

“If Tim gets off, like he did a little bit tonight, we’ll live with that,” Bogut said. “If he’s getting easy shots against me where he’s two feet from the basket, we have a problem. But if I keep working him, pushing him out, making him work for his buckets, we’re not too worried about it.”

Bogut is rugged and rough on the edges, which is exactly what the Warriors need at this point. They have enough pretty boys on the team. His post defense is the reason why the Warriors are able to survive without All-Star David Lee. He may not get the same attention as Curry and Thompson, but his presence in the middle is the difference between going home in the first round or playing for a spot in the conference finals.

Joel Huerto is the editor and publisher of OneManFastBreak.net. Follow him on Twitter @onemanfastbreak.

Klay Thompson and Steph Curry combined for 383 3-point shots during the 2012-13 season. (GETTY IMAGES)

Moments after his Golden State Warriors ripped the Pepsi Center nets for 14 3-point shots and 131 points to stun the Denver Nuggets by a whopping 14 points Tuesday night, Mark Jackson boasted that his team may have the best shooting backcourt in NBA history.

”We are a very good shooting basketball team,” the Warriors coach told reporters after Golden State evened the best-of-seven series at 1-1. ”We’ve got guys that can knock down shots. You talk about Klay Thompson and Steph Curry, in my opinion, they’re the greatest shooting backcourt in the history of the game.”

Wow! That is something coming from a guy who played with Hall-of-Famer and 3-point specialist Reggie Miller for six seasons in Indiana. As much as we’d like to disagree with Jackson, he makes a valid point.

Thompson, the son of former Blazer and Laker great Mychal Thompson, has knocked down 322 3-point shots in his first two seasons. He made 211 treys this year, which could easily have led the league except he had a teammate who had 272 threes. Curry broke Ray Allen’s single-season NBA record for most 3-point shots made, and hit a mind-boggling 45% of his shots from beyond the arc.

Curry may have the best shooting stroke in basketball, period. His jump shot is pure perfection. Once he gets his feet set, the shot is almost automatic. His technique is so good it’s almost a surprise when he misses.

The son of Dell Curry is putting on a shooting so far in the 2013 NBA playoffs, lighting up Denver for 30 points in Game 2, including 4-for-10 from 3-point range. As a team the Warriors were 14-for-25 on 3-balls and shot a sizzling 61% from the field Tuesday night. Golden State silenced the raucous Pepsi Center crowd despite not having All-Star forward David Lee, who is out for the year with a bad hip.

“It’s a big win for us. Everybody contributed, and that’s how we have to play without D. Lee,” said Curry, who also dished out 13 assists.

Give Jackson a lot of credit for the win because he didn’t panic when Lee went down, and his decision to insert point guard Jarrett Jack into the starting lineup may have turned this series around. The three-guard look paid off, as the Warriors played faster and gave the Nuggets fits.

“They were knocking down shots from everywhere,” Nuggets forward Andre Iguodala said. “They kept attacking us, especially our pick-and-roll defense. In the fourth quarter, Steph was making shots for them.”

Jackson moved rookie forward Harrison Barnes to the power forward spot, Lee’s usual spot, and the adjustment not only put another outside shooter on the court but it also negated Wilson Chandler’s advantage at the stretch 4 position.

“It was a different lineup. We started (Jarrett) Jack, so we were small. With Harrison (Barnes) at the four, we match up better,” Curry said. “We were able to space the floor. Every play we ran we had good looks because the ball was moving. It forced them to react to us instead of the other way around.”

Barnes finished with 24 points on 9-for-14 shooting, Jack scored 26 points on 10-for-15 shooting in 42 minutes, and Klay Thompson added 21 points and knocked down five of his six 3-point shots.

“If we try to outshoot this team, it’s crazy. They may be the best shooting team in the NBA, and the best I’ve seen in a long time,” Nuggets coach George Karl said of the Warriors.