Warriors' Klay Thompson Needs to Stop 'Wrapping Himself Up' in Every Shot, Kerr Says

Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Klay Thompson's struggles are largely mental, as he continues the worst stretch of his professional basketball career.

“In some ways right now Klay just has to get out of his own way and free himself up and just play, enjoy the game instead of wrapping himself up in every single shot. ... He just needs to just relax and go play," Kerr told reporters before Wednesday's loss to the Phoenix Suns.

Thompson is averaging 14.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game while shooting a wretched 35.1 percent from the floor. He has not made half of his shots in a single game yet this season and shot under 40 percent for a fourth straight game Wednesday, finishing with 19 points on 6-of-17 shooting.

"The best I ever felt was in 2019. I know I can't get back there, but even if I get to 90 percent of that—still hell of a player," Thompson told ESPN's Ramona Shelburne. "Still a hell of a championship team."

Thompson missed the entire 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons after suffering a torn ACL in the 2019 NBA Finals and then a ruptured Achilles a year later when training for his return. He returned to the lineup last season after a 30-month absence from competitive basketball and looked surprisingly solid, averaging 20.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.

While Thompson was inconsistent on a night-to-night basis and still diminished from his 2019 form, he was a solid role player with occasional flashes of greatness.

This season, Thompson has been a complete mess on both ends of the floor, clanging shots we've never seen him miss while being a liability on the defensive end. It's unlikely Thompson ever returns to his All-Defensive Team-level defense he was playing three years ago, but Kerr is almost certainly correct in pointing out that his shooting struggles are mental.

Thompson, who has been known for his laid-back demeanor through his career, was visibly irritated with being called out by TNT's Charles Barkley last month. With Warriors fans also growing frustrated with Thompson's play amid the team's disappointing 6-9 start, it's easy to see why Thompson is pressing.

That said, a mean regression is coming at some point. It makes no logical sense for Thompson to be a lesser-but-still-effective player last season and a total mess this season—particularly after his first healthy summer since 2018.