Klay Thompson is excited about getting the opportunity to play with Giannis Antetokounmpo for the Miami Heat
New Miami Heat player Klay Thompson has been teammates with Steph Curry and Kevin Durant.
Both are arguably two of the best players in NBA history. And now Thompson feels he gets to play alongside another generational talent. That's how highly he thinks of Heat forward Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Just take a look at what Thompson said at his introductory press conference Tuesday with the local media at Kaseya Center.
"They both have a similar impact on the game," Thompson said. "I think Giannis would be the third [NBA] MVP that I have been able to play with now, which is really cool. His interior scoring is one of the best ever and his jump shot is greatly improved. You can't sag off him like you used to. He will punish you, and he's just an incredible talent who has a great will to win. And I love being around guys like that who leave it out on the floor and really care about their craft."
Thompson won four titles during his years with the Golden State Warriors as a teammate to Curry, Durant and Draymond Green. While he was never in a starring role, he was a vital part of the success. A future Hall of Famer, he will go down as one of the best shooters in league history. He ranks right up there with Curry and Ray Allen, who are high volume scorers from the perimeter.
The hope for the Heat is for Thompson to play a secondary role to Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo, who are the expected primary players. The Heat, who have won three championships, are coming off their first season of missing the playoffs since 2019.
They traded for Antetokounmpo in the offseason so they could once again be a contender in the Eastern Conference. It won't be easy reaching that perch because the conference is loaded. The defending champion New York Knicks remained intact while the No. 1 seeded Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers are still stacked.
Then there's the Philadelphia 76ers, who added LeBron James and Jaylen Brown during free agency. So the Heat are in for a battle this season despite the upgrades.
MORE MIAMI HEAT NEWS
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Shandel Richardson is the publisher of HeatRoundtable. He can be reached at [email protected]
