SAN FRANCISCO — If you’ve ever taken an Introduction to Philosophy course, you probably vaguely remember The Ship of Theseus paradox. Essentially, it asks that if every piece of a ship is replaced individually but retains the same structure, at what point — if ever — does it become a different ship? The paradox applies to NBA teams too. For example, the Phoenix Suns have one player (Devin Booker) remaining on their roster from their 2021 Finals run. That team, for all intents and purposes, is not the same.
The Golden State Warriors are in a much different position, with their core — Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins, Kevon Looney — still intact from their 2022 championship. It’s hard to argue that the Warriors are the same team, though, because of the glaring, painful absence of Klay Thompson.
“A guy like that, he’s been here a long time — he’s been here a long time,” Looney said at Warriors Media Day on Monday, catching himself in the present tense instead of the past. “He helped build a special team and a dynasty and his spirit will always be missed … He kind of showed us the Warrior way and how to play and how to carry yourself.”
Golden State’s offseason additions of Buddy Hield, De’Anthony Melton and Lindy Waters III can help approximate Thompson’s on-court production and 3-point volume — even free-agent acquisition Kyle Anderson drew raves with his renewed shooting form — but the heart, the essence, the… Klajism. That crucial piece is in Dallas, and it’s left a gaping hole in the hull of the Warriors’ ship.
“With Klay leaving here, things just look different, it feels different,” Green said Monday. “It’s not the same thing anymore. For so long it’s just been the same thing.”
Until about the middle of last season, it seemed like a done deal that Thompson would retire Warrior along with Curry. If any member of the trio lands elsewhere before their careers are over, you’d bet on Green given his string of recent transgressions. Instead it was Thompson who ran away, reportedly disillusioned with Golden State’s efforts — or lack thereof — to keep him in the Bay.
While generally not the loudest guy in the room, Thompson’s presence was clearly missed at Media Day on Monday, with several Warriors remarking on the “energy” that will no longer permeate the locker room. He played 13 seasons with Golden State, all of them with Curry as a teammate and all but one with Green. Warriors forward Moses Moody said he still plays net chess against Thompson (Moody lost to him Monday morning, but vowed revenge). Jonathan Kuminga recalled how much it meant to him that Thompson visited his native Africa not long ago.
This guy meant more to his teammates, and to his city, than what he can do on a basketball court.
“I think a lot of people don’t know who Klay is off the court. He’s a great guy off the court,” Kuminga said Monday. “He’s just a very adorable person off the court because he enjoys spending time with people, he enjoys talking to people.”
So, if Thompson was synonymous with the Warriors, and he is no longer a Warrior, are the Warriors still the Warriors? You see why a disturbingly irresponsible philosophical mind-master fits.
Since arriving in Golden State a decade ago, head coach Steve Kerr has run one of the most unique, complicated offensive systems in the game. It is driven to unparalleled success, capitalizing on the one-of-a-kind talent that is Stephen Curry. But it has also turned off countless players who simply cannot thrive in it. This season, Kerr has vowed to simplify things by eliminating some of the myriad options each player has in any game, presenting a difficult balance of maintaining an identity while adapting to personnel. It sounds, at least for now, that he’s earned a buy-in from the face of the franchise.
“I know there’s a Warrior mindset and a culture of how we do things, there’s a system that we’ve run for a decade-plus that’s worked. It doesn’t necessarily mean that’s how this team has to play,” Curry said Monday. “We have to kind of have antennas up and an openness to accept what this team’s strengths are, what our weaknesses are, and kind of lean into those.”
With the offense changing and Thompson no longer in the fold, the inevitable evolution and reinvention that occurs for most franchises every few seasons is finally hitting the Warriors. The assimilation of Hield, Melton and Anderson — along with the continued progression of Kuminga, Moody, Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis — will ultimately decide whether this version of the Warriors can make one last run at the mountaintop. As Green said Monday, “championships are won six to 10. Championships are not won one to five.”
However, Thompson’s departure means that no matter how much success or failure this team has, it will look different. It’s just not the same ship. One of their captains is missing.
“Just his energy on and off the court. We’re going to miss him especially on the court,” Gary Payton II said of Thompson on Monday. “We know what he brings. He’s a hard-maker, hard-shot-taker. You can’t really duplicate what he does.
“We’ll miss him, but excited to kick his butt pretty soon.”
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