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KLAY: COURT CHAMPION

By Charles Apple The Spokesman Review

NBA great Klay Thompson — part of three NBA championship teams with the Golden State Warriors and half of the famed Splash Brothers duo — returns to Pullman today to have his college hoops jersey retired by Washington State University.

Led the Cougars in free throw percentage and 3-point field goal percentage his freshman year.

Scored 43 points in the championship game of the 2009 Great Alasaka Shootout, earning MVP honors.

Set a school single-season scoring record with 733 points in 2010-11.

Set Pac-10 tournament records in 2011 with 43 points and 8 3-pointers.

Named All-Pac-10 first team as a Sophomore and as a Junior.

Named to the 2012 NBA All-Rookie First Team.

Scored 52 points with 11 3-pointers in a 2015 game against Sacramento. In that game, Thompson set an NBA records by a) scoring 37 points in a single quarter, b) Shooting 13-for-13 from the floor in a single quarter and c) Shooting 9 3-pointers in a single quarter.

Scored a playoff record 11 3-pointers and 41 points in the 2016 Western Conference Finals against Oklahoma City.

Became the first player in NBA history to score 60 points in fewer than 30 minutes in 2016 against the Pacers.

Was a starter on teams that won NBA championships in 2015 and 2017.

Appeared in five NBA All-Star games between 2015 and 2019.

Tore the ACL in his left knee in Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals. Is sitting out this season to recover.

The ‘Splash Brothers’

Thompson has a unique relationship with his teammate Stephen Curry.

In 2012-13, Thompson and Curry combined for 483 3-pointers — an NBA record for a duo.

The next season, the duo broke it's previous record by one.

In 2014-15, Thompson and Curry combined for 525 3s.

The two are the only players in NBA history to have scored 200 3-point shots over seven consecutive seasons.

All in the family

Thompson isn’t the only professional athlete in the Thompson family:

Klay’s father, Mychal, played 13 years in the NBA and won NBA titles with the L.A. Lakers in 1987 and 1988.

Klay’s older brother, Mychel, played briefly in the NBA for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Klay’s younger brother, Trayce, plays baseball. He’s spent time with the Chicago White Sox, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Oakland A’s.

Sources: Sports-reference.com, The Spokesman-Review files, Washington State Sports Information, Pac-12 Conference, NBA.com, the Associated Press, ESPN