Dallas Basketball

Klay Thompson reveals he 'really' believes in Mavericks, 'especially when...'

Klay Thompson is quite optimistic as to what the Dallas Mavericks could be closer to the postseason.
Kade Kimble|
Feb 23, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson (31) warms up before the game against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-Imagn Images
Feb 23, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson (31) warms up before the game against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-Imagn Images | John Hefti-Imagn Images

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Dallas Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks are fresh off a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers as they took on Luka Doncic on his home floor -- something nobody could have expected even just a month ago.

In his first game against his former club, Doncic scored 19 points on 6-of-17 shooting, adding 15 rebounds, 12 assists, three steals and two blocks. While his scoring wasn't eye-popping nor efficient, he impacted the game in a massive way, just like the Mavericks were used to.

For Dallas, Kyrie Irving led the way with 35 points on 12-of-27 shooting. His running mate, Klay Thompson, was the second-leading scorer with 22 points, shooting 5-of-10 on 3-pointers and 8-of-17 overall.

Klay Thompson
Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson (31) looks to pass against Los Angeles Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt (2) during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

While the Mavericks took a loss, and had to suffer playing against Doncic, the four-time NBA champion is quite optimistic about where the team can be when they get back to playing basketball as an entire unit, healthily, again.

"I really believe in this team, especially when we are whole. I know what a championship team looks like and feels like. I know we have what it takes to do that. We just have to get whole and hold down the fort until we get healthy," Thompson said after the Mavericks' recent loss.

This past offseason, Thompson jumped ship, leaving the Golden State Warriors -- where he had been for his entire career -- to join the Mavericks, assuming he'd be playing with Doncic. Now on a squad with Irving and Anthony Davis, the sharpshooter remains optimistic about where the club can go when healthy.

READ MORE: Luka Doncic reacts to seeing Kyrie Irving, other former teammates after Lakers-Mavericks

Stick with MavericksGameday for more coverage of the Dallas Mavericks throughout the NBA offseason. 

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Kade Kimble
KADE KIMBLE

Kade has been covering a wide variety of teams ranging from the NFL to the NBA and college athletics since joining Sports Illustrated's FanNation in 2022.

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