Klay Thompson says improved shooting is directly tied to social media break
Golden State Warriors G Klay Thompson is taking a break from the social
media trolls
>Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) gestures after shooting
a 3-point basket during the second half of the team’s NBA basketball
game against the New York Knicks in San Francisco, Friday, Nov. 18,
2022. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
By SHAYNA RUBIN | srubin@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: November 25, 2022 at 12:49 p.m. | UPDATED: November 25, 2022
at 4:35 p.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/11/25/klay-thompsons-social-media-break-a-direct-correlation-with-improved-shooting-he-says/

SAN FRANCISCO — After strong performances over his last three games,
Klay Thompson’s shooting percentage was steadily climbing closer to his
career average heading into Friday’s game against the Utah Jazz.

A few weeks ago, Thompson decided to stop scrolling the comment sections
on his social media platforms.

Coincidence? Not at all. Thompson says there is a “direct correlation”
between his social media strike and his improved play.

“I have so much more time on my hands,” Thompson said after the
Warriors’ shootaround on Friday. “On social media looking at the
comments, I learned if you lurk you’re going to get hurt.”

A mind clear of internet trolls paired with a more patient approach has
him playing a lot more like his pre-injury self. Over his first 12 games
of the season, Thompson was shooting a career-low 33 percent on
3-pointers on a career-high nine 3-point attempts per game. Since last
Friday’s game against the New York Knicks, he’s shooting over 50 percent
from 3 on the same number of attempts.

Around the time Thompson decided to take a social media break, Draymond
Green took him aside to set his longtime teammate’s mind right. He
reminded Thompson, in essence, to play within the team rhythm and to
quit searching for an easy fix to his slump.

Thompson seemed overly anxious to silence outside noise. Publicly, he
called out TNT’s Charles Barkley for saying he was “not the same guy”
anymore after tearing his ACL and Achilles in consecutive years. In a
few Instagram posts, Thompson promised social media doubters who he’d
stumbled across in his notifications that he would return to his
pre-injury form.

“We’re all human and we care what people think of our game,” Thompson
said. “We take pride in our game… Our strengths and weaknesses.
Sometimes it hurts when you put so much effort into being great and
people criticize you. So that is the nature of the beast when you’re a
professional athlete.

“I don’t know what I was thinking, my 12th year in the league. I’ve been
through this before. But I had a moment of weakness. But learning to
focus on the games and days, not looking too far ahead. You’ll enjoy the
run so much more. That’s what I’ve been doing the last couple weeks
rather than after a game, going on social media and checking your mentions.”

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Mental blocks are breaking down. Notably, so are some of the physical
blocks. Thompson admitted that he was not in “great” shape during the
season’s first weeks. A mental block kept the 32-year-old from playing
pick-up ball during the offseason because it was during a pick-up game
in Los Angeles during his ACL surgery recovery that he tore his Achilles
two years ago.

Thompson sat out for all but one game in the preseason to manage his
injuries and played on a minutes restriction for the Warriors’ first
four games. A good chunk of Thompson’s 3-pointers hitting the front rim
indicates he hasn’t had the same lift under his legs to go with his
picture-perfect shooting form.

“That first week, I thought I was in great shape, but I was in good
shape, not great,” he said. “Now I’m not getting tired. Making an impact
on both ends and I just think I’m getting my legs in my shot.

“I’m trying to play with great force on both ends and take great shots.
The first couple weeks I was a little trigger-happy. Any daylight, any
little inch of space was open. Now realizing I have great teammates,
let’s play off them. Let’s get great shots, and the good ones will go
in, too.”

--
Shayna Rubin | General Assignment Sports Reporter
Shayna covers Bay Area sports for the Bay Area News Group. She covered
the Oakland A's from 2019 to 2021 and, most recently, the Golden State
Warriors' championship run in 2022. Shayna is a San Francisco native.