by DALLAS — The look of confusion was omnipresent in the many pairs of eyes at American Airlines Center on Thursday night, starting with Klay Thompson.
The Dallas Mavericks rookie was so shocked to find himself with so much room to make a three-pointer in the fourth quarter that he needed a rhythm dribble just to get his body right at the rim.
Before the ball left his hands, the man making the pass, Luka Dončić, was already head down, almost as if to say: “You allowed me to have this guy on my team?”
That look was echoed by San Antonio Spurs second-year prospect Victor Wembanyama, who was stunned by the extra attention he was receiving, with hands slamming at him and bodies being thrown at him.
Wembanyama’s coming out party was delayed by the reminder that Thompson is arguably one of the five best shooters in NBA history and the Mavericks are the Western Conference champions who don’t plan on giving up on the title just because the conference became stronger at the top.
Dončić shook off summer rust and Thompson showed none as the Mavericks showed no mercy to the Spurs on Thursday night. Thompson’s six three-pointers were a team record in a player’s debut, as he made 22 in Dallas’ 120-109 win.
Wembanyama’s second half of his rookie year is already cementing his name as Defensive Player of the Year and, in the not-too-distant future, MVP. But he was treated somewhat rudely by fellow draftee Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford, the men who manned the middle during Dallas’ road to the NBA Finals.
Wembanyama’s final numbers looked pretty effective with 17 points and nine rebounds, but he unexpectedly struggled to draw attention as he missed 13 of his 18 shots. The addition of veteran Chris Paul didn’t look too promising either, and it’s easy to suspect that Wembanyama’s rough night combined with Paul’s debut in a Spurs shirt were correlating issues.
But the evening was more about Dallas, a team that, despite its success in the spring, was treated in some ways as an afterthought. Minnesota is a trendy pick to make the Finals, but certainly no trendier than the Oklahoma City Thunder – who had the best record in the conference last season.
The Denver Nuggets actually won the NBA title in 2023, and there is always debate about the major franchises in Los Angeles and the Bay Area.
Faith in Dallas is whispered, not announced with a megaphone. Thompson’s graduation from Golden State — a proud veteran who couldn’t find a place with the only franchise he ever knew — left some people upset with him over the summer.
But despite all the free agent negotiations, it’s worth noting that he shot 39% from 3-point range last season and was at 41% after the All-Star break. He probably can’t be who he was since he turns 35 this season before All-Star Weekend, but he can still make an impact.
And playing alongside Dončić, the NBA’s best perimeter scorer, it’ll be easy to get great looks — like that too-good-to-be-true three-pointer in the fourth minute. This rhythm dribbling is because he tends to think too much, but here he is able to catch it and let it pass.
“That doesn’t make sense because what we were taught as kids to be the best basketball players is that you have to jump the highest and run the fastest,” Thompson said. “But somehow Luka defies it. He plays at his own pace and manipulates the game better than I’ve ever seen anyone do.
“It’s great to be a recipient of this.”
Thompson added that he was only grateful for the award so that it wouldn’t make Dončić “look stupid,” but that would be difficult that night or any other night.
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There’s only so much space in the halfcourt, but when you’re playing with Dončić and Kyrie Irving – a tremendous creator in his own right – there’s going to be as much space as possible because those two need to be monitored at all times.
“Klay is patient, we’re trying to figure out his spots,” Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd said. “When Klay isn’t shooting, he can put it on the floor and make decisions. We’ve talked about this in the past. When we hire newcomers, our job is to hopefully fit them in. And I think you can see that his feet are calm, that he’s comfortable here and that he’s enjoying it.”
It’s the emotion of the first game and it’s Spurs who are far from their championship vintage. There will be nights where Thompson struggles and his feet don’t move as well on defense as they used to – but this trio seems to work quite well on offense because even when he’s out, he can’t be left open become.
“Like I said, there’s plenty of room for me and Kai [Irving] – not just for Klay, but for everyone,” said Dončić. “You can’t leave Klay open. You can’t leave Kai open. So it’s… it’s going to be tough on defense, but we just have to take it game by game.”
Dončić didn’t perform as usual in the first half, but when he made an attack, the game got out of reach midway through the fourth quarter, with the MVP punctuating his 28 points and 10 rebounds with great chants. Night with eight assists.
Irving and Lively each scored 15 points, with Lively contributing 11 rebounds and six assists.
It wasn’t lost on Thompson that he was playing with Irving, who he battled against in numerous NBA Finals between the Warriors and Cavaliers, and Spurs forward Harrison Barnes is someone he won a title with during that first Warriors run .
It shows that nothing lasts forever and the only consistency is change – therefore flexibility is the best quality. It’s not that last season didn’t leave its mark in Golden State or that everything will go smoothly this year.
It just means things are different.
“It makes you grateful to be in the NBA,” Thompson said. “When you look around you see the guys you came here with are still playing at a high level, especially Chris Paul [is]. I mean, when I talk to CP now, I’m like, ‘Man, I used to chase you for 40 minutes.’ I used to hate his guts, now we’re good friends.”
Thompson will face another good friend, Kevin Durant, on the Phoenix Suns in a few days after a great first night with many more tests on the horizon.
