Klay credits odd warmup ritual for electric outing vs. OKC originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
Klay Thompson truly is one of a kind.
His feel for the game of basketball is like no other — literally. Before the Splash Bro put on another historic performance in the Warriors’ 141-114 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday, Thompson said he already knew it was going to be a big night moments before tipoff.
“Well, every pregame when I’m doing my warmups, I flip a kettlebell to see if it lands upright,” Thompson told reporters postgame. “And tonight, it did so I knew it was going to be a good one.”
Looks like we’ve all been using a kettlebell wrong …
Thompson’s peculiar and unique pregame ritual was right on target, though.
The four-time NBA champion made it rain in OKC with 12 triples, finishing with a game-high 42 points on 15-of-22 shooting from the field and 12-of-16 from deep before receiving a well-deserved standing ovation as he walked off the court for the final time of the contest.
Monday’s outing was his second-highest scoring night of the season. He opened 2023 with a 54-piece against the Atlanta Hawks on Jan. 2 at Chase Center, shooting 21-of-39 from the field and 10-of-21 from behind the arc.
Thompson has said in the past that on nights like that, he often tends to black out because he’s so in the zone. But that wasn’t the case on Monday. He knew.
The kettlebell ritual has been a thing for five years, Thompson said.
“It’s rare that it happens,” he added. “But when it does, it’s nice.”
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Nice might be an understatement for the outcome, but that’s what makes Thompson so irreplaceable.
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