Klay Thompson Calls Out ‘Casuals’ Diminishing Warriors Run Amid Ray Allen Comparisons

Klay Thompson played his first 13 seasons in the NBA for the Golden State Warriors.

Klay Thompson Calls Out ‘Casuals’ Diminishing Warriors Run Amid Ray Allen Comparisons

Klay Thompson (Image credits - Bleacher Report)

There is no doubt that both Klay Thompson and Ray Allen are two of the greatest shooters the NBA has ever seen. Both players are multiple-time champions and are definitely in everyone’s top five list of greatest shooters of all time.

Allen was drafted as the fifth pick in the 1996 NBA draft. He played in the NBA for 18 seasons and was named an All-Star 10 times. During his playing career, he played for the Milwaukee Bucks, Seattle SuperSonics, Boston Celtics, and Miami Heat. He won two championships in 2008 and 2013 with the Celtics and Heat, respectively.

Meanwhile, Thompson was drafted by the Golden State Warriors as the 11th pick in 2011 and moved to the Dallas Mavericks in 2024. He played 11 seasons for the Dubs and won four championships in six Finals appearances. He was an important part of the Warriors’ dynasty from 2015 to 2022 and has five All-Star appearances during this period.

On the Swishlist Podcast, the host compared the two elite shooters and their achievements.

Who would you rather have for their entire career? Thompson goes to the Finals six times, wins four. Allen goes to the Finals four times, wins two championships. Points per game, Allen at 18.9 and Klay at 18.6. Rebounds, assists and steals – Ray. Blocks – Klay. I go in favor of Allen because he was the bus driver. There’s more he can do with the ball compared to Klay.

Mo Eyere on Swishlist podcast

Ray Allen has been the best player on a team for several years in his career. He is one of the most clutch shooters the league has ever seen. Meanwhile, Thompson has played the majority of his career as a secondary scorer behind Stephen Curry.

Thompson has had several big moments but has never been an MVP-caliber player in his career. After completing his 13th season, he awaits his future as the Mavs are open to parting ways with him in the summer.

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Klay Thompson responds to Matt Barnes picking Ray Allen over him

Matt Barnes played alongside Klay Thompson for half a season during his time with the Warriors in the 2016-17 campaign. The Warriors signed him after Kevin Durant went down due to an injury, and they needed a replacement. It was the final season of his career, and it ended with his first and only championship.

Klay Thompson and Matt Barnes
Klay Thompson and Matt Barnes (Image credits – Trinidad Express Newspapers)

Barnes took the time to comment on the Swishlist Podcast post and picked Allen as well.

Love Klay but this ain’t close. S/O out jesus shuttlesworth.

Thompson replied to Barnes’ comment and took a subtle jab at his former teammate.

Barnes, how’s your 2017 championship ring doing?

The 2016-17 Warriors are considered by many to be the greatest team of all time. They finished the playoffs with a 16–1 record, and Thompson averaged 15 points per game during their postseason run.

Klay Thompson found himself getting into a war of words with a fan

From 2015-2019, Thompson and the Warriors made it to five consecutive NBA Finals. They won three championships during this run and lost in 2016 and 2019. The 2016 loss was painful, as they blew a 3-1 lead to the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, Thompson was the Dubs’ top scorer in the playoffs that year.

A fan commented under the post and questioned whether Thompson faced any top defenders, as they would have been guarding Durant or Curry. Thompson cited his scoring output to shut down his detractor.

You do realize I was the 2nd leading scorer on two championship teams without KD? You want me to go to a bad team and put up empty stats? That’s easy, buddy.

The two championship teams Thompson is talking about are the 2015 and 2022 championship teams. Even in the 2016 playoffs, Thompson averaged 24.3 points in 24 games, which is his highest scoring average in a postseason. Thompson was the second scoring option as Durant had not joined the Warriors then.

While Ray Allen may have been the bus driver in Milwaukee and Seattle, he never led his team to the NBA Finals as the primary option. Thompson has never been the first option, and at this stage of his career it is not going to happen; hence, nobody knows how good he would be if he were one. Still, it’s an interesting barbershop debate.

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