Home Basketball Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson’s Meeting Was an Effort to ‘Counter’ LeBron’s

Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson’s Meeting Was an Effort to ‘Counter’ LeBron’s

Basketball — 07/26/2024

After a three-team sign-and-trade involving the Charlotte Hornets and the Golden State Warriors, four-time NBA champion and five-time All-Star Klay Thompson signed a three-year, $50 million deal with the Dallas Mavericks on Monday. The third year of Thompson’s contract is up for grabs as a player option.

Mar 17, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (6) meets with Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (2) during a time out in the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports 

After receiving offers from several teams this summer, including the Lakers, Mavericks, and others, Thompson ultimately decided to sign with the defending Western Conference champions. NBA analyst Marc Stein said that on Sunday night, LeBron James pushed hard for the Lakers to sign Thompson. However, before the signing, in Dallas, Thompson met with Mavericks star Kyrie Irving.

May be an image of 2 people, beard, people playing basketball, crowd and textIt’s a surprising turn in a fascinating career trajectory for all three guys. While playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the middle of the 2010s, James and Irving naturally faced off against Thompson, Steph Curry, and the Warriors. While James and Irving were teammates, their teams engaged in famous NBA Finals clashes against each other.

When Kyrie Irving asked to be traded out of Brooklyn two seasons ago, the Lakers were unable to obtain him at the trade deadline. James wanted the Lakers to trade for his old teammate Kyrie Irving, but they were unable to reach an agreement with the Nets, and Irving ended up in Dallas.

May be an image of 1 person, playing basketball, crowd and text that says "chime KYRIE IRVING MANS PTS 11 Series 28 Tonight 20 FG 13-37 8-13" 

Now, Irving, who just made it to the NBA Finals, battled James and the Lakers for the services of Klay Thompson, their old rival from their time together with the Cavaliers. Irving, Thompson, and Luka Doncic will now face off against LeBron James and the Lakers in the Western Conference.

That was a surprising turn of events, and the Mavericks were victorious. Even if Thompson isn’t the same All-NBA defender he was before he tore his ACL and ruptured his Achilles tendon, he can still shoot threes at a rate of about 40%. That should be more than enough to keep Irving and Doncic off the court in Dallas.

If the Mavericks want to be a playoff contender again next season, they need Thompson, who is a fantastic basketball fit with the team.