Draymond Green shed a few tears over Klay Thompson leaving the Warriors.
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Draymond Green shed a few tears over Klay Thompson leaving the Warriors.
Golden State Warriors legend Klay Thompson is open to the idea of playing in the “Big 3” after his NBA career winds down. The Dallas Mavericks wing revealed his surprising post-retirement plans during an interview with Los Angeles Lakers legend Michael Cooper on the “Showtime” podcast.
Cooper, the coach of the Miami 305, asked Thompson if he’d be open to joining the 3×3 basketball league in his retirement.
“Absolutely, especially with that 4-point ball, that gets me excited,” he responded.
“I just want the Big3 to go international — that would be so fun to see the Big3 go overseas and do a little tour. I would love that. Y’all should go to Europe and Asia. Believe it or not, three-on-three basketball is played more around the globe than five-on-five.
“The opportunity for growth with the league is incredible, so big shout out to [Ice] Cube and all you guys for this incredible league. It’s awesome!”
Thompson Wants 5th Ring
In the meantime, Thompson is determined to help the Mavericks capture an NBA championship, which would mark his fifth personal NBA title following the four rings he won with the Golden State Warriors.
Although the Mavericks will enter the season with Kyrie Irving, their best scorer, sidelined with injury, the team could be a force to be reckoned with in 2026-27 and beyond. The loaded squad includes Thompson, Irving, Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively II, Daniel Gafford, Max Christie, Caleb Martin and Naji Marshall. It got even more potent at the 2025 NBA Draft, where they drafted Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 overall pick.
Thompson believes the Mavericks have the best frontcourt in the league.
“AD? When he’s healthy, he’s the best power forward, maybe of my generation,” Thompson told Cooper, via Yahoo Sports. “You’ve seen him with the Lakers; he is a two-way forward, so I mean, there’s not many big men that could do what he does as far as his handles, his blocking-shot ability, his jump shot.”
‘Kyrie Is our Leader’
“I think we personally have the best front court in the NBA when healthy,” he added.
“We have so much depth in the front court between P.J., Coop, Gaff and AD. Then, get in a guy like DLo, having that guard depth, I’m just really excited.”
Thompson believes the Warriors will become instant NBA title contenders the second Irving joins the aforementioned loaded squad. Irving is reportedly due to return by January or February from his ACL tear.
“He’s our leader, it’s going to be tough without him for the first five months of the season,” Thompson said of Irving.
“But we have such a great, complete roster now, especially getting Cooper Flagg and having the length and frontcourt size that we do. I’m really excited when Kyrie comes back to the lineup that we can be whole again, because we only got to see it for one half last year and I feel like we had a chance to be the best team in the league. The injury bug hit us, but we are all hungry this year.”