Team USA head coach Mike Krzyzewski had high praise for sharpshooter Klay Thompson after Tuesday’s practice, detailing and shutting down the theory that Klay’s only strength is his perimeter scoring ability.
“Klay is one of the great, complete players on this planet. He’s not only an offensive player. He’s more than a shooter”, Krzyzewski told reporters. “He’s an outstanding offensive player who loves to play defense and never really seems to get tired. He has a great motor”.
Thompson is coming off a career-year with the Warriors, helping set a league mark for best team record in NBA histroy at 73-9. Thompson averaged a career-best 22.1 points on 43% shooting from deep. Klay elected to stay after practice on Wednesday, taking over 100 jumpers from all over the arc, fully committed to improving his game every day. It’s that exact kind of attitude and dedication that interests Coach K the most.
Throughout the past few days, Team USA has practiced against the Select Team — which features the likes of D’Angelo Russell, Myles Turner, and Victor Oladipo — The same team Thompson was on years ago. Thompson enjoys being able to play against the Select Team, now being on the Team USA Varsity squad.
“It’s a lot of fun”, Thompson said. “It’s fun beating up on the select team because I was in that position years ago, and the Olympic team used to beat the crap out of us every day. It’s fun to be on the Olympic team and do that to them now and get each other better.”
Thompson will likely be Team USA’s starting shooting guard, potentially playing alongside Warriors teammates Kevin Durant and Draymond Green to start games off. Klay is competing with the likes of Jimmy Butler, Paul George, and others for the spot, but early praise from Coach K is certainly a confidence booster in the direction of Thompson.
