Warriors, ex-Dub Klay Thompson can tag team to eliminate Grizzlies

Can Klay finish what his former Golden State teammates started and eliminate Memphis out of the play-in tournament?

The Warriors-Grizzlies beef has officially transcended jersey changes and conference standings. While Golden State relaxes after eliminating Memphis from the 7/8 game Tuesday by a score of 121-116, their former flame Klay Thompson has a chance to twist the knife into the Grizzlies one more time—just wearing Mavericks blue.

The stage is set for a delicious rivalry continuation: Dallas travels to Memphis Friday night in the final game of the Play-In Tournament with the Western Conference’s 8th seed at stake. One game, winner advances to face Oklahoma City, loser goes fishing. And wouldn’t you know it, Captain Petty himself has a front-row ticket.

Thompson, once the calm Splash Brother who let Steph and Draymond generate most of the headlines, evolved into Memphis’ personal nightmare. “I can let my emotions get the best of me,” Thompson admitted in an exclusive interview with The Commercial Appeal. “I’m human. I’m more competitive than people think I am.”

That mutual respect-hate relationship blossomed into one of the NBA’s most entertaining rivalries. Whether Thompson was calling Jaren Jackson Jr. a “bum” for his “Strength in Numbers” tweet or standing over a falling Dillon Brooks during a Christmas Day win, Klay made Memphis his personal villain.

Now with the Mavericks hanging on by their fingernails, Thompson has the chance to deliver another gut punch to Ja Morant and company. The narrative practically writes itself:

Last season, Thompson suffered through a miserable 0-for-10 shooting night as the Kings eliminated the Warriors in Sacramento in the play-in tournament. That bitter disappointment marked his Warriors finale. But just days ago, Thompson dropped 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting including 5-of-7 from deep as the Mavericks eliminated those same Kings 120-106 to set up this Memphis matchup.

“It did feel good to exorcise those demons in here. Man!” Thompson exclaimed during his on-court postgame interview with ESPN.

Despite rolling his ankle against the Warriors, Ja Morant made his intentions crystal clear: “I’m playing. That’s basically the answer I’m giving. It ain’t nothing different.” The Grizzlies superstar managed 22 points on 9-of-18 shooting despite the injury, but Memphis still fell short against Golden State.

As a Warrior, Thompson didn’t hide his disdain for Memphis’ premature dynasty talk, particularly where Dillon Brooks was involved. “Man, they [were] talking about dynasty and all that, you can’t talk dynasty when you haven’t won before,” Thompson said. “I don’t think people realize how hard that is, the commitment and sacrifice it takes. You got to sacrifice your body and I thought that was premature talk to even mention that word.”

Even Draymond Green piled on: “You’re running around talking about a dynasty?” Green said on his podcast. “The dynasty starts after you, not with you.”

Thompson has acknowledged the mental taxation of his final Warriors season, including feelings of not being prioritized by Golden State’s front office. Going scoreless in his Warriors finale will always be a bitter memory. But Thompson was determined to “play free” in his next crack at the Kings in a play-in game, not allowing last year’s disappointment to haunt him.

“At the end of the day, it’s all just competitive fun,” Thompson said. “If you want to talk trash, it’s all part of the game. We all grew up talking mess. You can’t hoop without talking a little mess.” But make no mistake—Thompson takes these matchups personally.

When Thompson steps onto the FedEx Forum floor Friday night, he won’t just be playing for the 8th seed—he’ll be playing to remind Memphis that dynasty talk requires hardware first. Captain Petty thrives in these moments, and the basketball gods have given him one more shot at his favorite rivals.

Let’s see if those four championship rings can silence the Grindhouse one more time.