Megan Thee Stallion was busy this Thanksgiving as she stepped into the kitchen to make a feast for her man, Klay, and the Thompson family.
Thee Hot Girl Chef jumped in the kitchen and threw down, making all of the must-have Turkey Day staples in portions large enough to feed Klay’s family full of professional athletes. Taking on such a major holiday had our girl admittedly stressed as she wanted to impress the Thompsons.
“I was really nervous because I was like ‘dang I’m really finna cook for my man and his whole family and I hope they like it because I really gotta show them that I really love they son,” she said in her reel.
Though Meg had already told her fans that Klay’s dad and Lakers legend, Mychal Thompson, loved her cooking so much that he felt she could own a restaurant, he took it a step further by singing her praises during the local Los Angeles broadcast of the Lakers and Mavericks game.
While Meg and Klay‘s mom, Julie, sat courtside to take in the game, Mr. Thompson was busy talking about Thee Hot Girl’s culinary skills.
“Thanksgiving dinner was the best Thanksgiving food I’ve ever eaten,” Mychal said during the live broadcast. “Megan Thee Stallion should be Megan Thee Chef. It was unbelievable. She went out of her way to make sure everyone was fed. We had to take so many bags home there was so much food. It was one of the best Thanksgivings we ever had, thanks to Megan.”
The NBA champion is a man of few words but he’s been vocal about his adoration for his son’s superstar girlfriend. Soon after Klay and Meg went public, Mr. Thompson chatted about her during a broadcast, playfully saying that he referred to her as “Megan Thee Filly” due to that being the proper term for a young female horse. He clearly is not above a good dad joke.
Meg is clearly in good with the Thompsons as she also made sure to let everyone know that the biggest stamp of approval came from Klay’s mom, who she affectionately calls “Miss Julie.”
“Miss Julie was the star of the show,” Meg said during a courtside interview. “Miss Julie is the hostess with the mostest. Mr. Thompson definitely said that I can own my own restaurant, I’m glad that I got the stamp of approval from the father but the mother! Miss Julie was my number one stamp of approval.”
The Thompsons have been a relatively low-key family over the years but since Meg’s arrival they’ve all seemed to come out of their shell a bit, especially Klay. Meg and “Miss Julie” have been kiki-ing at Mavericks games since the start of the season and we all remember the Wag Wig fiasco that had the internet talking for days.
The internet is already speculating that the Thompsons are making room for Meg in their family and since she posted a photo of what many suspected was a home she shares with Klay, we’ll be checking our mailboxes for the wedding invite. Save the date? Say less!
Celebs are usually giving it their all. Posing for red carpet pictures, sharing their new projects, going across the world to promote their work… It’s a glamorous but busy life! And the glamor doesn’t stop when the cameras stop and all the noise dies down. If anything, the sizzling life of a celeb is cranked up to 100 on their luxurious vacations!
Here are some of the sexiest, most lavish, skin-showing, exotic vacations celebrities have ever taken…
Dua Lipa
It would be a crime if we didn’t start this list with Dua Lipa AKA Mermaid Barbie herself! It’s been a joke for a long time that the pop star is “always on holiday” — and we have to say, we can see why. It was tough to pick just ONE vacation that we think was super hawt, but her August 2025 rendezvous in Spain with her pals looked like too much fun to pass up.
Cruz Beckham
Ah, the Beckhams. The first people to come to mind when you hear the word “yacht” — how could we not include them? A standout moment for the iconic fam was earlier this year when Cruz Beckham broke the internet by wearing matching speedos with his dadDavid Beckham. Double trouble!
Sabrina Carpenter
(c) Sabrina Carpenter/YouTube
We’ll keep this Short N’ Sweet. Sabrina Carpenter‘s European vacation in summer 2024 took her to places like Italy and France. The humid weather definitely got her natural waves popping out in her iconic bleach blonde hair, with a skin-tight red swimsuit to accentuate her figure — SEE HERE. Sexy!
Kim Kardashian
(c) SKIMS/YouTube
The KarJenners have been on too many vacations to count, but Kim Kardashian‘s body shots in Los Cabos, Mexico earlier this year had fans DROOLING! Go swiping in her post to see why by clicking HERE! Whew!
Another member of the KarJenner clan leaving little to the imagination. Mz. Kylie Jenner took it all the way to Paxos, Greece in a teeny tiny bikini with her pals this past July. Boats, beaches, and baddies — what more could you ask for? Gorg!
Taylor Swift & Travis Kelce
(c) MEGA/WENN
How could ANYONE forget the sizzling walk Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce took down the beaches of The Bahamas in early 2024? We’re pretty sure those pics of Tayvis making out in the ocean are burned into everyone’s memory from how HAWT they were! Couple goals.
Priyanka Chopra Jonas
Priyanka Chopra Jonas also took her rockin’ bod to The Bahamas. She shared some SIZZLING pictures in July of herself in a teeny tiny bikini having fun on the beach. Nick Jonas and their daughter Malti Marie were also present for some sweet family time! Cute.
Megan Thee Stallion
(c) Adriana M. Barraza/WENN
Megan Thee Stallion BROKE the internet when her beyond-sexy bikini pics she took in The Bahamas this July ended up doubling as a soft launch! CLICK HERE to look! Fans were amazed by just how flawless she looked, but they still somehow spotted her beau Klay Thompson chilling off to the side of the pool in a lounger.
Charli XCX
(c) MEGA/WENN
365 vacay girl! Charli XCX shared a cheeky bikini-thong moment from Palermo, Sicily in May 2025, leaving fans’ jaws on the ground. The sun, the sea, the views, the BUNS — what a stunning moment in time. See what we mean by clicking HERE! So HAWT!
Do U agree with our picks for the hottest celeb vacations ever? Who would U choose as the number one most sexy? Let us know in the comments (below)!
Chile… something’s been brewing between Klay Thompson and Ja Morant, and let’s just say the tension finally boiled over. Two stars, both with something to prove, exchanged words during Saturday’s game — and neither held their tongue. Grab your popcorn, because this storyline is getting spicy before anyone even steps back on the court.
Y’all! Memphis took home a 102–96 win Saturday night, and although Ja Morant missed his third straight game with a calf strain, he still found time to send some long-distance smoke. Klay, who dropped 22 points off the bench and hit 6-of-12 from deep, missed a potential game-tying three in the final seconds — and Ja wasted zero time reminding the cameras who he thought the real shooter of the night was.
After the final buzzer, Klay Thompson and Ja Morant came face-to-face, with footage showing Ja pointing his finger in Klay’s face, prompting Klay to push it back before stepping toward him. Teammates quickly rushed in to separate them, though what was initially said to spark Klay’s reaction remains unclear. During Cam Spencer’s live postgame interview, Ja walked up and said, “Tell ‘em who the best shooter in the house was, it wasn’t bro from Golden State.”
Klay Checks Ja & Turns Up The Heat
Klay did not let that slide. Back in the locker room, he clapped right back, calling Morant’s comments nothing with “intelligent depth” and saying Ja “has a lot to say all the time, especially for a guy who rarely takes accountability.” And he wasn’t done. Klay doubled down, saying Ja’s been “running his mouth for a long time,” and that it’s “funny to run your mouth when you’re on the bench.” He even took it further, implying Morant’s off-court issues have kept him from living up to his star potential: “We need our best players to be out there… I hate to see that go to waste.”
The Fans Hit The Comment Section Like It Was Game 7
Fans immediately sprinted to The Shade Room’s comment section to toss in their two cents, and the theories were flying. Some Roommates joked that Ja must’ve said something slick about Klay’s bae Megan Thee Stallion, while others defended Klay, saying he’s never messy enough for anyone to come at him like that. A few commenters were confused altogether, wondering why Ja was stirring the pot when he wasn’t even playing and was posted up on the bench in a Nike tech.
One Instagram user @ratheblessed1 wrote, “He definitely said something negative about Megan 😭😭😭”
This Instagram user @therealmemphitz said, “Ja said get yo lil dizzy sizzy red bone azz tf outta here“
And, Instagram user @q33n.elly commented, “Love this Klay era 🙌🤎”
Meanwhile, Instagram user @dtay_blackie added, “Come on now, JA had on a Nike Tech. You already knew he was on timing. He’s a certified YN 😂”
While Instagram user @bunjeevision shared, “Thats not Klay Thompson no more. Thats DaKlayvius 🥷🏿 😂”
Finally, Instagram user @elle_mvrie said, “How you hating from outside the court? You can’t even get in! 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭”
The Mavs also picked up a future superstar when they landed Duke star Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 pick in this past June’s NBA Draft.
Thompson’s still part of the roster and seems capable of continuing to contribute, but time will tell. Meanwhile, he might have shared some significant insight into what he plans to do when he’s done with the NBA.
DALLAS, TEXAS – OCTOBER 31: Klay Thompson #31 of the Dallas Mavericks gestures after a three pointer against the Houston Rockets in the second half of a basketball game at American Airlines Center on October… DALLAS, TEXAS – OCTOBER 31: Klay Thompson #31 of the Dallas Mavericks gestures after a three pointer against the Houston Rockets in the second half of a basketball game at American Airlines Center on October 31, 2024 in Dallas, Texas. Thompson will be honored by the Warriors.
Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images
Thompson recently spoke to NBA great Michael Cooper, now a coach in the Big3, who asked him if he’d consider playing for the Big3 Basketball League upon retirement.
The four-time NBA Champion didn’t hesitate to give his early application and a strong endorsement to the league.
“Absolutely, especially with that four-point ball. That gets me excited,” Thompson told Cooper.
“I want the Big3 to go international. That’d be so fun to see the Big3 go overseas,” he said, adding, “3-on-3 basketball is played more around the globe than 5-on-5.”
Cooper agreed that the league is heading in the overseas direction with its popularity. The league debuted in 2017 and has mostly continued until 2025, except for canceling the season in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Just recently, the Miami 305, coached by Cooper, won the championship, defeating the league’s Chicago Triplets, coached by NBA legend Julius Erving.
The Big3 currently features eight teams. In addition to Miami and Chicago, there are squads representing Dallas, Los Angeles, Boston, Detroit, Houston, and the Delaware-Maryland-Virginia (DMV) region.
Among the former NBA players participating in the league are Dwight Howard, Michael Beasley, Lance Stephenson, Joe Johnson, and Jason Richardson.
As of this report, Thompson hasn’t announced his NBA retirement. He spent the first 13 years of his career with the Golden State Warriors, capturing four championships alongside stars including Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and Draymond Green.
He signed a three-year $50-million contract with the Mavericks in a six-team sign-and-trade that the NBA reported last July.
Last season, Thompson started and played in 72 games for the Mavericks, averaging 14 points, 3.4 rebounds, and two assists per game. That scoring average is his lowest since his rookie season in 2011-12.
As promised, we’ve compiled swoon-worthy stunners (and our thirst-trappin’ celebrity faves) with Ice Spice making her return to the series after stunning at the star-studded Highest 2 Lowest premiere in NYC.
The ‘In Ha Mood’ rapper made her acting debut in Spike Lee‘s latest joint centered around a music mogul (Denzel Washington) faced with a life-or-death moral dilemma after being targeted with a ransom plot.
Check out the trailer below:
Directed by the Oscar-deserving Lee, Highest 2 Lowest also stars A$AP Rocky, Jeffrey Wright, and Ilfenesh Hadera in the buzzy film now playing in select theaters/opening Sept. 5, 2025 on Apple TV+.
“And A$AP, man. Fire,” said Lee about Rocky’s acting performance during an appearance on Carmelo Anthony’s 7pm in Brooklyn show, per Billboard.
“I mean, there’s some scenes with him and D head to head, he ain’t backin’ up. It’s like, ‘I’m here too!’ Very, very happy with the way the film turned out and looking forward to sharing with the world.”
This week’s thirst trap compilation also features Rubi Rose delivering heat along with Angela Simmons and Kelis giving what needs to be gave.
There’s also big baddie energy from Lexi Williams, Jayda Wayda, and more so we invite you to enjoy our latest collection of top-tier thirst traps on the flip.
Stephen Curry & Draymond Green – Source: Mike Ehrmann / Getty
Stephen Curry found himself fighting for his life once again after Draymond Green was ejected just four minutes into the Warriors game against Orlando.
However, according to ESPN, last night Steph Curry was left on his own after Draymond Was ejected four minutes into the first quarter.
This isn’t the first time Draymond has been ejected but this time Steph couldn’t hold back his emotions and appeared to be in tears. The energy from the team was different from all sides this time around.
Despite defeating the Orland Magic 101-93 Curry used his press conference to address the situation and sounded defeated.
“We need him. He knows that. We all know that,” Curry said of Green. “So whatever we need to do to keep him on the floor and be available, that’s what’s got to happen. Especially at this point in the year. It was a tough way to start the game.”
Steph wasn’t the only one disappointed in Draymond’s actions on the court. In the post-game press conference, Steve Kerr didn’t defend Draymond and admitted he deserved the ejection.
BROOKLYN — Klay Thompson didn’t let his smile fade. Can he find solace in seeing the younger, spryer wings close out a win against the Brooklyn Nets? Most definitely. Is he frustrated that he didn’t close the Warriors’ win? Of course, he said.
“Yeah, you kidding me? To go from one of the best players …” Thompson’s voice trailed off. “It’s hard for anybody, I’ll be honest with you. It’s very hard. … Those guys played great, Gui (Santos), (Brandin Podziemski), Jonathan (Kuminga). End of the day, winning cures all.”
Thompson kept smiling.
Monday wasn’t the first time Thompson sat out to close a game this year. He was benched late for Podziemski in Memphis last week, but that game was trending toward a comfortable win. In November, he was benched for the first time in his career for crunch time in an eventual gutting loss to the Phoenix Suns; he was visibly frustrated on the bench and after the game as he spoke to reporters at his locker.
But this night in Brooklyn, Santos, who started the year in the G League and hasn’t played many other meaningful minutes this year, was too impactful to sub out. With Andrew Wiggins out injured, Santos gave the closing lineup of Steph Curry and Draymond Green flanked by young players Kuminga and Podziemski the athleticism and spark on the wings it desperately needed. He fought for loose balls, cut to the rim and wrangled or tipped rebounds — six, to be exact — in 17 minutes.
He had nine points and the Warriors outscored the Nets by 13 points when Santos was on the floor, a team-best.
“Everybody here always says be ready for when you have the opportunity to be on the court and play,” Santos said. “So when I saw I had a couple minutes on the court, I said I had to bring energy to the team, especially defensively.”
Earlier this year, coach Steve Kerr might have hesitated to play a youngin’ over a veteran, and in a few instances, the choice came back to bite — putting Moses Moody’s hot hand on ice against Sacramento in November, for example. This is a team that built its dynasty leaning on budding superstars and beating down teams with a tried-and-true formula the league couldn’t crack.
Now, sitting 22-25 and out of the play-in tournament midway through the year, Kerr has had to wade into the unfamiliar. That’s made for some uncomfortable moments, especially for Thompson. Lately, his shots are coming up short and it appears the wear-and-tear of the season on his two surgically repaired legs is taking its toll on the soon-to-be 34-year-old.
He had eight points, shooting 4-for-9 from the field and 0-for-3 from 3. He couldn’t close. But the Klay-to-close decision seems volatile given Thompson’s competitive desire to be on the floor when it matters most, as he always did before his injuries.
“He’s fine,” Kerr said. “This is a season where he’s had a lot of ups and downs and it’s not easy for a guy who has been so good and a Hall of Fame player to deal with the injuries, it’s never easy for any player getting older. But he’s mentally tough and plays through everything.
“There’s a spotlight on him because of how great he is, because of the career he had. I don’t think that should be the story tonight, the story should be that we won a game on the road against a team that’s been playing well and we had multiple guys step up.”
Due respect to Kerr’s wishes, the visual of Thompson benched late is still foreign and jarring. For his cold-blooded approach, microwave shooting flurries and clutch Game 6 moments, he will go down in history as one of the game’s best and most clutch shooters. And now he must find an emotional balance to keep the edge that got him here while accepting that those legs he rode here aren’t Teflon anymore.
But Kerr’s pleas to tilt the spotlight off Thompson seem to resonate with the rest of the team, too. As Thompson answered questions at his locker Monday night, he was interrupted by a teammate, Draymond Green, who was singing from his own locker loud enough to drown out reporters. Eventually he stuck his head in the media scrum in the locker room.
“What they asking you about, that you ain’t play to finish the game?” Green said. “Well, I got benched in Game 5 of The Finals (in 2022) — who the (expletive) cares.”
Green was messing around, but again put the meaning of this season into perspective. The dynasty’s mortality is clearer by each game, but moments like this show its core players aren’t afraid to acknowledge that its final years won’t look like those brilliant first ones. Kerr, Green, Thompson and Curry all know they’ll have to make little sacrifices like this to keep going.
“I know he wants to shoot the ball better,” Curry said. “I know he wants to be out there on the floor. He’s a champion. He is a guy that’s been as much a part of all of our success as anybody. The challenge as we get deeper into our careers is the adjustments that we all have to make to try to continue to win at the highest level.”
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — With star teammate Stephen Curry sidelined, Klay Thompson kept shooting and took care of the offensive load the Golden State Warriors were missing without their reigning NBA Finals MVP.
Thompson scored 42 points with a season-high 12 3-pointers, Jordan Poole added 21 points and career-best 12 assists starting in Curry’s place, and the Warriors beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 141-114 on Monday night.
“It was a beautiful game to watch him play,” Draymond Green said of Thompson.
“… We needed it. It’s been a while since we had a blowout win. It’s good to get this one, especially first game with Steph out. It was good to start off on this foot and try to create some momentum.”
Thompson sat down for the night to a roaring ovation with 4:41 left to finish 15 for 22 from the floor and 12 of 16 on 3s. Thompson now has eight games with 10 or more 3-pointers, second in NBA history behind Splash Brother Curry’s 22.
“This is a confidence booster for sure to play without him, but to see the performance of the team, amazing individual performances we got,” coach Steve Kerr said. “It was a feel-good game for a lot of people and that just really fuels everybody. Hopefully we can keep that going.”
Andrew Wiggins scored 18 points in Golden State’s first game since losing Curry to a left leg injury late in the third quarter of Saturday’s win against Dallas — and the Warriors went 26 of 50 from deep without the league’s career 3-point leader.
They also didn’t let down late as has been a concern and frustration recently for Kerr.
“That was fun, that was probably the most fun I’ve had watching our team all year,” Kerr said.
Thompson had 27 points at halftime, going 10 of 14 from the floor and 7 for 9 on 3-pointers as the Warriors led 60-53. Poole dished out five assists in the opening quarter, then helped Golden State start the third on a 19-7 burst to pull away for their eighth straight win in the series.
“I thought Jordan was magnificent, one of the best games I’ve ever seen him play. He just was so under control,” Kerr said.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 20 points, Aaron Wiggins added 19 and Tre Mann had 18 off the bench for the Thunder. Josh Giddey contributed 15 points, eight assists and seven rebounds as Oklahoma City struggled in the opener of a road back-to-back coming off a franchise-record 153 points in Saturday’s home win over Houston.
TIP-INS
Thunder: G Lu Dort sat out again after he missed Saturday’s game with a strained right hamstring. … The Thunder were outrebounded 45-36. … Oklahoma City dropped to 9-17 on the road, 3-10 vs. the West. The Thunder have lost four in a row on the Warriors’ home floor.
Warriors: Poole had his first double-double of the season and third of his career. … Golden State is 7-5 without Curry, who was previously sidelined Dec. 16-Jan. 7 with a shoulder injury. “We’ve already been through a stretch without Steph and handled it pretty well, so we’re confident we can do that again,” Kerr said.
ROLLINS SURGERY
Warriors rookie guard Ryan Rollins is set to have surgery Wednesday for a broken pinkie toe in his right foot and he will likely miss the rest of the season.
Golden State acquired the draft rights to Rollins from the Hawks, who selected him 44th overall in the second round.
He played in 12 games for the Warriors and 19 for the G League Santa Cruz team, where he averaged 19.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 25.6 minutes.
DETROIT — Saddiq Bey scored 28 points, Cade Cunningham was an assist short of a triple-double and the Detroit Pistons beat the defending champion Golden State Warriors 128-114 on Sunday night to end a five-game losing streak.
“I’m overjoyed for our guys after the work they put in tonight,” Pistons coach Dwane Casey said. “That’s what happens with a young, rebuilding team. There are going to be nights like this where people are going to say, ‘Whoa, where did that come from?’ That’s exciting.”
Cunningham had 23 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists to help the Pistons win for the first time since their opening game. Isaiah Stewart added 24 points and 13 rebounds as Detroit’s starters scored 111 points.
“I think tonight we showed what Pistons basketball is going to be,” Stewart said. “We played defense the way we needed to play it every night, and on offense we were sharing the ball and making sure everyone got shots.”
Steph Curry had 32 points and Jordan Poole added 30 for Golden State, coming off a 120-113 overtime loss in Charlotte on Saturday. The Warriors played without Klay Thompson (rest).
“We can’t stop fouling, and something needs to click with our guys,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after his team put Detroit on the line 38 times. “We have to be near the bottom of the league in defensive efficiency and that puts us in some bad spots offensively.”
Golden State led by 10 early in the second quarter, but the Pistons responded with a 29-9 run to take a 10-point lead of their own. Stewart had 15 points and seven rebounds in the first half, including a rare 3-pointer to put Detroit up 63-55 at halftime.
Curry was 3-for-8 on 3-pointers in a 15-point half, but the rest of the Warriors went 1-for-13 from behind the arc. Golden State had a 22-12 edge in points in the paint, but Detroit’s jump shooting gave it a decided edge.
“I think our offense is killing our defense, whether it is floor balance or whether the ball doesn’t move and guys are stagnant,” Draymond Green said. “The two ends aren’t connecting, and in order to be a great team, those two ends have to connect.”
The Pistons kept rolling in the third quarter, starting with an 11-2 run to go up by 17, 74-57.
Poole, though, scored 12 points in 52 seconds — a three-point play and three 3-pointers — to cut it to 79-72.
TIP-INS
Warriors: Poole and Curry outscored their teammates 62-52 in the first three quarters. Their fellow starters — Green, Kevon Looney and Andrew Wiggins — combined for 19 points on 7-of-24 shooting.
Pistons: Detroit had more points in the first three quarters (100) than they averaged in four losses (96.3) to the Warriors over the last two seasons. … Rookie C Jalen Duran left in the fourth quarter with a left leg injury. Casey said he would know more on Monday morning.
UP NEXT
Warriors: At Miami on Tuesday night.
Pistons: At Milwaukee on Monday and Wednesday nights.
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More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports
The Golden State Warriors had a certain glow as they entered training camp four weeks ago. It’s a glow you have after spending the summer celebrating a championship and preparing to defend it the next season.
Klay Thompson was seen dancing on his boat. Stephen Curry had his jersey retired at his alma mater and was inducted into Davidson’s Hall of Fame. Jordan Poole took a tour of Europe. James Wiseman finally got a summer league under his belt.
That glow extended internally, as the Warriors spent five days in Japan for two preseason games. But shortly after they landed back in San Francisco, Golden State was confronted with what coach Steve Kerr called “the biggest crisis” in his tenure with the Warriors, as video of Draymond Green punching Poole during practice leaked out for all the world to see.
The team swears it’s past the altercation, and that ring night on Tuesday was the ultimate Band-Aid to the incident. It won’t, they say, have any effect on their quest to win their fifth title in nine years.
What kind of impact Green’s actions have on the Warriors is a question that will play out throughout the season. And it’s not the only issue surrounding the team.
Here are the five biggest questions the Warriors face for the 2022-23 season:
How will the Warriors manage their rotation?
In their season opener against the Los Angeles Lakers, Kerr played an 11-man rotation and nine players recorded more than 15 minutes. All but one active player (Patrick Baldwin Jr.) saw minutes and all but two (Baldwin and Ryan Rollins) played in the first half.
Having this depth is ideal in the situation the Warriors are in now — with Draymond Green and Thompson not ready to play full minutes and Iguodala not cleared to play at all. But Kerr and his coaching staff are eventually going to face some difficult decisions.
“You have 11 guys that probably deserve the opportunity to play,” Curry said. “There’s going to be different lineups every night, especially early in the year. … We’re going to have to develop that chemistry as we go. You’re going to continue to try and experiment and give guys opportunities to go out and hoop.”
This isn’t the first time the Warriors have faced this. They had it last season, but this season’s bench — and the talent up and down — is deeper than a year ago. The team has been drawing comparisons to the 2014-15 squad when the team coined the phrase “Strength in Numbers.”
“That team was veteran,” Kerr said. “This team is young guys, but the talent is really obvious.”
The additions of JaMychal Green and DiVincenzo replace the losses of Porter Jr. and Payton II. They are not carbon copies, by any means, but Green gives the Warriors a floor-spacer — he’s a career 37% 3-point shooter — defensive presence and a big body down low. DiVincenzo, for his part, gives them another ball handler and more offensive versatility.
But what makes the difference in the Warriors’ depth this season are their youngsters. Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody are being asked to play more minutes and have bigger roles in the rotation, while Wiseman will back up center Kevon Looney.
During the preseason, Kerr said only his sixth man was decided on — Poole. Other than that, significant rotation spots, and minutes, are up for grabs. How they’ll be distributed will be a critical variable in the Warriors’ attempt at a repeat.
Where does Warriors’ ‘camaraderie’ stand post-punch?
The Warriors are adamant they have moved on.
Green took several days away from the team, apologized to Poole and his family, and the organization, and said he was willing to do the work to rebuild bridges. But that was before he pushed back on the notion that he had to build back trust with his teammates.
“It’s about making sure our team camaraderie is right,” Green said the day he returned. “You can tell when you’re playing against a team and they have good camaraderie … if not, they can be broken easy … if you have that, you can build through anything. [Our camaraderie doesn’t] get very shaken.”
Green might be correct, that playing well together does come down more to trust on the court than in the locker room. Their season opener against the Lakers showed Green and Poole can coexist on the court and play together, with Poole connecting with Green on a second-quarter pick-and-roll.
But the Warriors have been playing in a bubble since the altercation. They played three preseason games at home and play their first three regular-season games in San Francisco.
But what happens when the Warriors hit the road? How will different fan bases use this against the Warriors? Will players, coaches and executives be prepared to address it game after game? How will they respond when every interaction between Poole and Green is dissected?
Pressure will rise. And there are far more questions than answers about the defining feature of this Warriors team and dynasty.
How will the Warriors handle their $500 million question?
In the aftermath of the punch, both Poole and Green’s contracts were key topics of discussion for Golden State as it juggled potentially hundreds of millions of dollars. Ten days later, Poole signed a four-year $140 million extension. Andrew Wiggins signed on as well, for four years and $109 million, setting the team up for a gargantuan $483 million tax penalty.
Green has a $27.6 million player option waiting for him next summer, and if he turns it down he is set to enter free agency in 2024. Green doesn’t expect a new deal this year and he said he isn’t thinking about negotiations now.
With 12 players on the roster next season, the Warriors salary will already be $215 million, and their tax will be $268 million. This scenario includes Draymond Green opting into his player option.
No GPII, no Otto Porter Jr., no Mike Brown: How can the Warriors maintain their elite defense?
Despite the outstanding shooting and offensive firepower the Warriors are known for, they like to consider themselves a team in which defense comes first. Last season, the Warriors showed it again.
But Golden State also lost its defensive mastermind in assistant coach Mike Brown to Sacramento. Golden State promoted Kenny Atkinson after he gave up the head-coaching job opportunity in Charlotte and is considered to be its new defensive coordinator, but Kerr told ESPN the team is also heavily relying on assistant coach Chris DeMarco to lead the defense this season.
“Mike got a lot of assistance from Chris last year,” Kerr said. “Chris is the bridge from last year so everything that we did then we are doing this year. There are a couple tweaks here and there but for the most part, we’re playing a similar style and I’m really happy with the job they’re doing.”
Consider: The Warriors allowed 106.6 points per 100 possessions last season, second behind only their Finals counterparts, the Boston Celtics, according to ESPN Stats & Information. They contested 91% of their opponents’ shots last season, the second-highest percentage in the NBA, according to Second Spectrum.
It’s no surprise that Draymond Green was — and continues to be — the anchor of the Warriors’ defense. According to ESPN Stats & Information, Green allowed .68 points per direct post, third-best out of 158 players to defend 40+ post-ups.
But the Warriors lost two of their other most important defenders in Payton and Porter.
Payton allowed an effective field goal percentage of 45.6% in half-court matchups last season, 11th-best out of 254 players, per Second Spectrum.
Out of 254 players with at least 2,000 half-court matchups last season, Porter allowed the 12th-fewest team points per 100 usage matchups (91.1), Payton the 13th-fewest (91.2) and Green the 40th-fewest (93.4).
So who exactly is picking up the defensive slack?
“JaMychal has been amazing,” Kerr told ESPN. “To be able to add a big, strong player who rebounds, who boxes out, who can guard multiple spots … he can guard up and guard 5s; he’s a key guy for us in terms of replacing those guys.”
Can they stay healthy?
Last season, the Warriors were able to fight through injury after injury, not having their entire roster healthy until Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs. And even then, they took a hit in the second round when Payton broke his elbow.
Thompson missed the first four months of the season as he finished his recovery from consecutive ACL and Achilles injuries. Wiseman, whom the Warriors say won’t play under any particular load management this season, missed the entire season. Green missed 28 games from mid-January to mid-March with a back injury. Curry missed the final 12 games of the regular season with a foot fracture. Iguodala played in just 31 games.
According to Spotrac, 12 players combined to miss 308 games for Golden State last season, fourth-most in the NBA.
Iguodala’s availability this season is still a question, and the Warriors aren’t counting on him to play big minutes.
Thompson missed the first two preseason games in Japan due to lack of conditioning, and is starting the regular season on a minutes restriction. After playing 20 minutes in the Warriors’ season opener, Thompson isn’t expected to have much of a bump against the Nuggets on Friday.
“I don’t think it will be very long [until I can play my full minutes],” Thompson said Thursday afternoon. “But I feel great. I keep working with the minutes I play and if we keep winning, we’re so deep that I am in a very fortunate position to be able to [ease in].”
Last season, the Warriors had the sixth-oldest roster in the NBA. This season, they are 10th.
Injuries, of course, are unavoidable. But if the Warriors hope to repeat, a repeat of last year’s unlucky run of injuries will make it more difficult.
SAN FRANCISCO — As the Golden State Warriors wrapped up their Western Conference finals series against the Dallas Mavericks, stamping their ticket back to the NBA Finals, a man by the name of Jason Arasheben started receiving text messages from a few Warriors players.
The texts were simple — and presumptuous. “Make sure you go crazy with the ring,” one read. “Make sure it’s over the top,” read another, according to Arasheben, who runs Los Angeles-based jewelry house Jason of Beverly Hills.
When the Warriors beat the Boston Celtics in six games — Golden State’s fourth title in the past eight years — Arasheben began designing a ring that was just that: huge.
The Warriors’ 2022 championship rings, which were presented to the team, coaches and front-office members ahead of the Warriors’ regular-season opener Tuesday against the Los Angeles Lakers, are 16 carats — a nod to the 16 wins the team had won in the playoffs. There are .91 carats of white diamonds on the inner bezel to honor the team’s 91% home winning percentage in the postseason.
But, like most any other championship ring, there is far more symbolism present than just the number of carats. Designed in a collaborative effort between players, team leadership and Jason of Beverly Hills, the ring tells the story of the Warriors’ championship season.
“The journey matters,” says Warriors assistant general manager Kirk Lacob, who spearheaded the design process. “That is the story you are trying to tell with any ring. The ring itself is cool, it’s flashy. But what it really is, is the physical manifestation of the journey. It’s supposed to remind you of everything you went through.”
Golden State’s journey to its title last year felt reminiscent of its title run in 2015 because of its improbability. Even after they made the Finals, ESPN’s Basketball Power Index gave them just a 14% chance to win the title. The Warriors wanted to give a nod to that championship that kicked off their dynasty seven years prior.
Arasheben and his staff presented Lacob with dozens of innovative designs at their first meeting in Lacob’s office at Chase Center. But Lacob didn’t like them. He says he wanted the same round shape their 2015 rings had.
And similar to how their 2015 ring resembled Oracle Arena — with the old building’s recognizable X’s on its windows around the outside of the ring — this year’s has imagery of Chase Center’s exterior in the same spot. Down one of the sides, there is also a view of the interior of Chase Center.
Arasheben and Lacob held just three formal meetings, but they would send each other numerous updates via text and email during the monthslong design process. Lacob estimates he saw around 20 versions of various parts of the ring before settling on the final design. They started with the face of the ring, and then worked on the shanks afterwards.
“It’s similar, but it’s a new age,” Lacob says. “It’s bigger, better and more badass.”
The ring is made up of seven carats of yellow diamonds — a rare gem that the jewelers of Jason of Beverly Hills scoured for months to find. Trade embargos as a result of the war in Ukraine only made it more challenging, Arasheben says, and they sourced from Belgium, Israel, India and Canada to find enough. By the time he acquired the diamonds, Arasheben and his team had just five weeks to make the 65 rings, each one needing 40 to 50 hours and seven different specialists to create.
The yellow color is not only an acknowledgment of one of their team colors, but also the “Gold Blooded” slogan the franchise introduced before the first round.
On the face of the ring, a carve-out of the Bay Bridge is made up of 43 white diamond baguettes — representing Stephen Curry‘s 43-point performance in Game 4 of the 2022 NBA Finals.
The face also features each player’s jersey number on top of what Lacob calls a “secret trapdoor” that, when slid open, reveals the number of Larry O’Brien Trophies each player has won. The individualized custom feature, Lacob says, came from a desire to honor the four core players — Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala who built Golden State’s dynasty.
“The team won this championship together, but we have four players who are very special,” Lacob says.
One side of each ring features the player’s last name, and then the records of each of the team’s playoff series victories. On the other is the organization’s seven Larry O’Brien Trophies displayed.
“I really do feel like we won the title last year not in spite of the previous two years, but because of the previous two years,” Kerr said. “I think of all the work that (the guys) put in during those down years to get better, to be ready for what they faced last year … It was a long haul, but all part of the journey that led to this title, which makes it really special.”
Behind those seven trophies lies the ring’s most subtle symbol — and Lacob’s favorite. It’s one the players were unaware of during the design process.
Engraved behind the trophies on the ring’s shanks is Boston’s legendary parquet floor — the exact location where Golden State won these rings.
