Washington Wizards guard Jordan Poole returns to face his old team in Friday’s game against the Golden State Warriors, and Klay Thompson hopes the fans at Chase Center will show him some love.
“We wouldn’t have won the championship in ’22 without him,” Thompson said, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “It’s as simple as that. So I hope Dub Nation gives him a standing ovation on Friday night.”
Golden State selected Poole with the first pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, and it didn’t take him long to establish himself as a secondary playmaker on a team already loaded with stars.
The 2021-22 season is his third in the league and he is averaging 18.5 points, 4.0 assists and 3.4 rebounds while shooting 44.8% from the field and 36.4% from deep. Then, he immediately surprised everyone by scoring 30, 29 and 27 points in the first three playoff games in the opening round against the Denver Nuggets.
Poole scored at least 20 points in seven of the Warriors’ 16 Western Conference playoff games and then averaged 13.2 points per night in the NBA Finals win over the Boston Celtics.
He seemed ready to make another leap in 2022-23 and he did just that while averaging 20.4 points per game. However, his field goal percentage (43) and 3-point percentage (33.6) are both down and he’s averaging 3.1 turnovers per game while dealing with inconsistency throughout campaign.
Lingering all season long is the Draymond Green situation.
Green punched Poole during a preseason practice, and the Warriors responded by fining but not suspending the veteran. Golden State ultimately lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round, and Green himself even admitted his punch disrupted the team’s chemistry and the overall season.
Golden State traded Poole to the Wizards this past offseason.
“I look back on it and I hate that it happened,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “I knew in my heart that when (the punch) happened, we handled it the best way we thought we could handle it. But looking back—and hindsight is always 20/20—we certainly could have done better. I just hate how it ended for Jordan here, because he’s a huge success story.
“For us and for him, this has been a great marriage. He’s helped us win a title. You know, we’ve helped him become a champion and a The guy signed a huge contract, a life-changing contract. It was all a huge success.” But I hate the way it ended.”
Poole’s time with the Warriors will always be remembered in part for the way it ended, but key members of the organization hope fans will show him proper appreciation on Friday.