"Not the guy who scored 60 in 3 quarters" - Klay Thompson reveals adapting to Reggie Miller's blueprint for staying on Warriors

As he gets older, Klay Thompson has become less effective as an offensive threat for the Golden State Warriors. This has become extremely evident this season as the Warriors have struggled to remain consistent as their stars decline. To Thompson's credit, he understands that he isn't quite the same player he once was and is ready to accept a different role with the team.

He referenced other great shooters who changed the way they played late in their careers and accepted a diminished role. Thompson said that he is open to doing this as long as he gets to stay with the Warriors, whom he has played for his entire NBA career.

Klay shared all this in an interview with The Ringer's Logan Murdock while also looking back at the things he accomplished. Here is what Klay had to say about changing his game.

"There’s nothing wrong with that. I’ll be 35 next year," Klay said. "At 35, coming off the ACL and an Achilles [tear] and still have the ability to be a really good player. Maybe not the guy who scored 60 in three quarters and scored an NBA record 37 points in a quarter, but still a great threat out there. I’ve modeled my game after Reggie [Miller] and Ray [Allen], and those guys were incredibly effective until their late 30s. So I plan on kind of following that mold."

Ray Allen and Reggie Miller were known as two of the greatest shooters in NBA history before Steph Curry came along. Allen is second on the all-time three-pointers made list with 2,973 while Miller is now fourth with 2,560 after James Harden surpassed him in 2022.

Both players remained effective as shooters late in their careers and are considered to be NBA legends. As such, it is understandable that Klay would model his game after them at this late stage of his own career.

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Taking a look at Klay Thompson's performance this season

At his peak, Klay Thompson made a name for himself as one of the best two-way players in the league. However, it is quite obvious that he is no longer the same player he once was. This season, Klay is only averaging 16.9 points per game. Which is his lowest since his sophomore season where he averaged 16.6.

Thompson is also on pace to have his lowest three-point percentage for a season yet, having made only 37.3% of his shots from beyond the arc. This lack of production and inconsistency has contributed to the Warriors' abysmal 25-25 record.