“Big Things Are Coming”: Klay Thompson Drops Unmissable Message to Mavericks After Getting Benched

Klay Thompson came off the bench for the first time since joining the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday amid his struggles with shooting, but the four-time NBA champion is not letting the slump define him.

In the Mavericks’ 101-99 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday, Thompson finished with 11 points, four rebounds and three assists, including three made 3-pointers.

Mavericks coach Jason Kidd opted to move him to the bench in favor of D’Angelo Russell as the team looks for stability, but Thompson remains confident.

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“I’m gonna do great things,” he said after the game. “That’s coming. I know it is. I’m feeling like those first five games were hard for me to get my wind and get my legs under me. “Now I’m finally feeling like myself again. And you just know as a shooter, when that ball is just effortlessly flicking off your wrist. You know big things are coming.”

Over his career, Thompson has shot 41.0% from three-point range. During his 11 seasons with the Golden State Warriors, where he won four championships alongside Curry, he connected on 41.3% of his attempts from deep.

Those numbers have fallen in Dallas, however, where he’s hitting just 29.2% of his shots from beyond the arc this season.

Jason Kidd discusses Klay Thompson’s benching

Jason Kidd’s decision to bench Klay Thompson, a proven championship-caliber shooter, for D’Angelo Russell raised eyebrows, but the coach said Thompson was fine with it.

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Kidd added that the benching is not permanent, as the Mavericks continue to deal with inconsistent point guard play.

“When we have a point guard on the floor, it's been alright. Talked to Klay. I said, ‘This isn't a permanent thing, but can you come off the bench?' He was good with it. I thought him coming off the bench gave us a spark,” Kidd said (per The Dallas Morning News' Mike Curtis).

In his first season with Dallas in 2024-25, Thompson started all 72 games he played, averaging 14.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists on 41.2% shooting and 39.1% from 3.

This season has been worse, with Thompson averaging just 8.5 ppg and 3.1 rpg on 34.2% overall shooting.

Edited by John Ezekiel Hirro