Stephen Curry, Sabrina Ionescu recruiting Klay Thompson, Caitlin Clark for NBA-WNBA 3-point challenge

Anthony Slater: Klay Thompson: “Captain’s hat ended up being a great touch because I’m such a passionate boater. Saw a lot of familiar faces. It was a warm-hearted feeling.” pic.x.com/GSq5aQCSZJ -via Twitter @anthonyVslater / November 13, 2024

Kendra Andrews: Kerr on Curry being extra charged up for tonight’s game: “He was matched up against (Klay) defensively … it was surreal saying Steph, you’ve got Klay … he smiled and shook his head. This is weird. But ultimately, it was a great night.” -via Twitter @kendra__andrews / November 13, 2024

Thompson made those free throws, the first two of his 22 points, which matched his season high for the Mavs. He was 6-of-12 from 3-point range, highlighted by a sequence midway through the second quarter when he swished 3s on consecutive possessions. He reacted to the first of those back-to-back 3s with a shoulder shimmy, swiping the celebration that Curry has made famous over the years. “It was an impromptu thing, but when you’re feeling it, you do stuff instinctually,” Thompson said. “I’ve done it before. I know Steph’s done it many times, so it was a fun, little playful thing to do. He was kind of surprised I did it, but it was a great shot and I’ll probably still do it in the future. I played my best brand of ball when I’m playing loose.” -via ESPN / November 13, 2024

Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry, the face of the host 2025 All-Star city in the Bay Area, has joined several All-Stars with input in this year’s event, sources said. -via ESPN / November 15, 2024

The Warriors were right to try to add Paul George or Lauri Markkanen to be supporting stars alongside Curry last off-season; and then, when they couldn’t land either, they were right to build out the roster with role players who fit with Curry. Because Curry is still great. “He showed it last year, too,” Kerr said. “I don’t think we had the depth and versatility last year that we have now. So to me, the model is ’22. We won the championship in ’22 with a similar mix to what we have now. Good on both sides of the ball, establish the defense — I think we finished second in efficiency that year, if I’m not mistaken. We’ve established this year we’re good defensively. We still have things to work on. But we won a title two years ago with a group built around Steph and defense. And that’s the formula this year, too.” -via San Francisco Standard / November 15, 2024

The Warriors can also sustain the frenetic defensive pace because they have a faster, deeper, stronger rotation than they did last season. At new defensive coordinator Jerry Stackhouse’s urging, they’re harrying opponents by blitzing almost every pick-and-roll, something very different than what the Warriors have done in this era. They give up some open shots this way, but they also cause a lot more chaos and give aggressive, athletic defenders like De’Anthony Melton, Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins, and Gary Payton II a lot of room to fly around. “We really decided on doing that after the personnel moves this summer,” Kerr said. “Once we added Melt, once we knew GP and Wiggs were healthy and looking good, once we decided to play bigger with Trayce [Jackson-Davis] and Draymond, it just made sense. Jerry really pushed for it and he’s been great at teaching it. But it’s a combination really of personnel and what makes the most sense for our team. Wouldn’t have made sense last year.” -via San Francisco Standard / November 15, 2024