The Dallas Mavericks formally announced Klay Thompson‘s arrival in Texas at a news conference recently. Then, Splash Brother’s most recent jersey number—31—for this team also gained attention. Draymond Green, a former teammate of his, became enthused about this moment and publicly expressed it.
DrayMagic was naturally drawn to Thompson’s decision to embrace number 31 when it appeared on Instagram. The 34-year-old was ecstatic to see this and couldn’t contain his happiness. With the caption, “31 is nasty work killa,” he uploaded the picture from his Instagram story as a result.
“31 is nasty work killa.”
Draymond Green’s IG story after seeing Klay Thompson’s new number 😂
(via money23green / IG) pic.twitter.com/IytVLAz5CX
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) July 9, 2024
Green responded to this announcement with great enthusiasm for good reason. On the one hand, this meant that Thompson’s iconic number 11 jersey was no longer worn. Conversely, the digits added to his most recent number represented the total number of championships he had with the Warriors (4).
Klay Thompson gives reason for wearing 31
Thompson did, however, provide other justifications for the present amount. Since Kyrie Irving already wears number 11 with the Mavs, the five-time All-Star had to choose a different position. He ultimately decided to honor Jason Terry, the franchise’s hero, and Reggie Miller, one of his childhood inspirations, by donning the number 31. He declared,
“It’s a change for me. I’m not mad at the change, I’m actually excited for it. It’s been a lot of great 31s in this franchise’s history… I watched so much footage of Reggie coming off screens as a teenager… That was an inspiration for me as well, I thought I’d have a chance to pass him in threes made so that would be a cool way to honor him, someone who really paved the way for a shooter like me.”
Whatever Killa Klay’s motivations, Green’s joy conveyed their strong relationship. Their relationship has endured despite their acrimonious breakup in the Bay Area. This friendship, after all, was essential to these recent developments.
