Klay Thompson Says Warriors Wouldn't Have Won 2022 NBA Title Without Jordan Poole

Washington Wizards guard Jordan Poole returns to face his former team in Friday's game against the Golden State Warriors, and Klay Thompson hopes the fans at the Chase Center show him some love.

"We would not have won a championship in '22 without him," Thompson said, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic. "Simple as that. So I hope Dub Nation shows him the right ovation on Friday night."

Golden State selected Poole with a first-round pick in the 2019 NBA draft, and it didn't take him long to establish himself as a secondary playmaker on a team already loaded with stars.

The 2021-22 season was his third in the league, and he averaged 18.5 points, 4.0 assists and 3.4 rebounds while shooting 44.8 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from deep. He then immediately turned heads by scoring 30, 29 and 27 points in the first three playoff games in the opening round against the Denver Nuggets.

Poole scored at least 20 points in seven of the Warriors' 16 Western Conference playoff games and then averaged 13.2 points a night in the NBA Finals victory over the Boston Celtics.

He seemed primed to make another jump in 2022-23, and he did in a way by averaging 20.4 points per game. However, his field-goal percentage (43) and three-point percentage (33.6) each dropped, and he averaged 3.1 turnovers per game while dealing with inconsistency throughout the campaign.

Hovering over the entire season was the situation with Draymond Green.

Green punched Poole during a preseason practice, and the Warriors responded by fining but not suspending the veteran. Golden State eventually lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round, and Green himself even admitted his punch disrupted the team's chemistry and overall season.

Golden State traded Poole to the Wizards this past offseason.

"I look back at that, and I hate that it happened," head coach Steve Kerr said. "I know that in my heart, that when (the punch) happened, we handled it the best way we thought we could handle it. But in hindsight—and hindsight is always 20/20—we could have done better for sure. I just hate the way it ended for Jordan here, because he is a huge success story.

"For us and for him, this was a great marriage. He helped us win a title. We helped him, you know, become a champion and a guy who signed a big contract, life-changing contract. It was all wildly successful. But I hate the way it ended."

Poole's time with the Warriors will always be remembered in part by how it ended, but key members of the organization hope the fans show him proper appreciation on Friday.