The Golden State Warriors are 19 months away from winning an NBA championship yet are in the basement of the Western Conference standings at 22-25. Stephen Curry, the two-time NBA MVP, made another All-Star squad this season, but the rest of the team, including his longstanding backcourt partner Klay Thompson, has struggled.

Thompson is having probably his worst season since becoming a starter for the Warriors in 2012-13, highlighted by a terrible shooting streak over the previous week (32.5% from the field, 16% from three points). Warriors coach Steve Kerr kept Thompson on the bench for the last seven minutes of Monday’s 109-98 victory against the Brooklyn Nets in Brooklyn.
Thompson discussed his cold streak with reporters in the locker room after the victory.

 

“I feel great physically, mentally is probably a different story,” he told reporters.
Longtime teammate Draymond Green interrupted from off-camera, asking, “What are they talking about, you ain’t played [sic] to complete the game? Who the (crap) cares if I was benched in Game 5 of the Finals?

 

That caused The Athletic’s Anthony Slater to question him about not finishing games.

“At the end of the day, winning trumps all,” Thompson remarked. “Are you kidding me?” Going from one of the top players is difficult for anybody. I’ll be honest: it’s incredibly difficult. I’m thrilled for these young boys, and yes, we won. It’s difficult to win in this league.