JTA refutes Klay Thompson being labeled all-time overpaid NBA player originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Juan Toscano-Anderson may not be on the Warriors’ roster anymore, but that’s not stopping him from having his former teammate’s back.
Frank Urbina and Raul Barrigon of HoopsHype boldly claimed that Klay Thompson is the third-most overpaid player in NBA history, a notion that Toscano-Anderson emphatically scoffed at.
The formula for crafting this list is based on HoopsHype’s Real Value Metric, which combines several factors to determine a players value.
Here was their reasoning for having a decorated player like Thompson third on this list.
“This one might come as somewhat of a surprise, as Golden State Warriors 2-guard Klay Thompson is a future first-ballot Hall of Famer and one of the purest shooters basketball has ever seen. The issue, at least for this exercise, is that his game — even before the injuries — was never well-liked by analytics. Even in 2015-16, arguably his best season ever when he made Third Team All-NBA and was part of the 73-9 Warriors squad, Thompson was barely a top-50 player, according to the analytics.
“Regardless, Thompson’s back-to-back major injuries to his ACL and Achilles didn’t help matters as just this past season, Real Value had him worth $8.7 million while he actually earned $30.1 million for a $21.3 million overpay. Maybe that’s why Golden State opted not to sign Thompson to an extension this offseason and is letting him enter unrestricted free agency next year. That will be a fascinating free agency to watch unfold.”
No matter what the analytics say, you’ll have a difficult time selling anyone on the idea of a four-time NBA champion being overpaid.
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