Dallas Basketball

Former Warriors teammates reuniting with Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks are giving D'Angelo Russell and Klay Thompson the chance to truly play with one another.
Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson dribbles the basketball against Los Angeles Lakers guard D'Angelo Russell.
Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson dribbles the basketball against Los Angeles Lakers guard D'Angelo Russell. | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

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Dallas Mavericks point guard D'Angelo Russell is going into his first season with the team, where he is excited to play once again with Klay Thompson.

Russell and Thompson were teammates with the Golden State Warriors for a brief time in the 2019-20 season before a trade to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Andrew Wiggins took place. Russell shared his excitement on The Backyard Podcast about playing with Thompson again.

“I got to cross paths with Klay in Golden State. He was coming off injury, so I didn’t really get to see him. He was like Batman—he was only around when the symbol came out,” Russell said h/t Dallas Hoops Journal reporter Grant Afseth.

“So I didn’t really get to cross paths. But being around him now and seeing his energy and how contagious it is for a group that may lack energy or may lack anything—he fills that hole up, you know. And it’s really cool to be around somebody like that.”

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D'Angelo Russell during the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Brooklyn Nets.
D'Angelo Russell during the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Brooklyn Nets. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Russell, Thompson reunited in Dallas

Russell also mentioned that Thompson hosted him for some workouts earlier this offseason to help ramp up for the start of the season.

“Vet camp—some of the best vets on the team that current year, gather all the players, few coaching staff, few training members, and they host usually in their backyard,” Russell said h/t Afseth. “Klay hosted us at his place—I don’t know if I’m exposing his location—but he was in California.

“He had us there, we trained at a few facilities, we played all day, we hooped, got to golf a little bit… set up a few nice dinners. He just had a bunch of the guys out, and it was—it was kind of weathering the storm of what’s about to happen.”

Russell, Thompson and the Mavs are just around the corner from the start of training camp before the preseason opener on Oct. 6.

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Jeremy Brener
JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several On SI sites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid and resides in Central Florida. He graduated from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener.

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