The Los Angeles Lakers had the odds stacked against them following a poor start to the 2022-23 season. Having a team full of guards surrounding LeBron James and Anthony Davis was not going to get the job done.

Thankfully, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka was aggressive at the trade deadline, bringing in D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, Jarrett Allen, Malik Beasley, and Mo Bamba to enhance the team.

Despite a complete squad change more than midway through the season, Los Angeles was able to win on the fly and earn a position in the Play-In Tournament. After barely defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves and then the No. 2 seed Memphis Grizzlies in the first round, the Lakers faced the defending champion Golden State Warriors in the second round.

Klay Thompson was excited to play his hometown team in the playoffs for the first time in his career. However, the Lakers went on to win the series in six games, and Thompson has since reflected on what he learned as reported by Anthony Slater of The Athletic:

“It stings a lot,” Thompson admitted. “Bad. Because you want to win against a division opponent, you want to beat your city, you want to beat your friends who are team fans, and you obviously want to beat LeBron (James). We have a long history with him. Congratulations to him. He’s still out there competing at the highest level he can. So, yeah, it hurts. It’s just incentive when you fall short of your goal, as we have done many times. It’s a type of fuel. You think about it all summer. “How could you have been more prepared?”

Thompson shot 3-for-19 from the field and 2-for-12 from 3-point range in Game 6, which was not ideal for the Warriors in an elimination game on the road. He believes weariness played a significant factor in his difficulties:

“I discovered that I was fried.” “I was exhausted,” Thompson admitted. “All of my shots in Game 6 were short.” They were all connected. They were simply too short. I’m not sure if that’s mental or bodily exhaustion. But it does happen. On top of that, I’ve learnt that as I become older, I’ll have to rely on my teammates and my intelligence to score the ball as efficiently as possible.”

Thompson experienced two severe injuries in 2019: a left knee ACL tear and a right Achilles tear the following year. It’s been an emotionally and physically taxing journey for him as he works his way back to being the dominant two-way player he once was.

The troubles are undeniable, but Thompson appears to be driven by the Warriors’ early postseason exit. With both Los Angeles and Golden State retooling around the edges, they are poised to be in the thick of another challenging Western Conference playoff race this year.

Thompson gives the Lakers credit for defeating the Warriors in the NBA playoffs in 2023.

The buzz around the Warriors and Lakers meeting in the playoffs was unparalleled, making for an exciting contest. Thompson credited the Lakers for upsetting them in the second round after a back-and-forth series, but he is looking forward to another potential matchup this season.