{"id":247423,"date":"2025-08-23T19:40:46","date_gmt":"2025-08-23T19:40:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/247423\/"},"modified":"2025-08-23T19:40:46","modified_gmt":"2025-08-23T19:40:46","slug":"ive-never-looked-at-klay-thompson-as-a-role-player-patrick-beverley-explains-why-paul-george-fits-the-golden-state-warriors-better-nba-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/247423\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cI\u2019ve never looked at Klay Thompson as a role player\u201d \u2014 Patrick Beverley explains why Paul George fits the Golden State Warriors better | NBA News"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\u201cI\u2019veKlay Thompson of the Dallas Mavericks shoots the ball before the game against the Memphis Grizzlies (Image via Getty Images) Patrick Beverley has sparked one of the hottest “what if” discussions in NBA history again. During his podcast, he suggested that swapping Klay Thompson for Paul George might have led the Golden State Warriors to snag even more championships. While Beverley highlighted George\u2019s adaptability, he also made sure to acknowledge Thompson\u2019s contributions, referring to him as a defensive cornerstone and one of the most accurate shooters in the game\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

Golden State Warriors might have won more games with Paul George in Klay Thompson<\/p>\n

On the most recent episode of his podcast, the Pat Bev Pod, Beverley was encouraged by his co-host to draw comparisons between Thompson and George. This conversation emerged from a broader discussion about whose career is more enviable, Thompson’s championship success or George’s personal accolades.Beverley didn’t hold back in distinguishing between the two, stressing how George’s abilities might have pushed the Warriors even further. Speaking right to his co-host, Beverley clarified, \u201cIf you put Paul George in the Klay Thompson role, playing with Steph, Draymond Green, [Andre] Iguodala, and (Kevin Durant)\u2026 We know Paul George was in the MVP race a couple of years ago.\u201d He continued, \u201cIf you substitute those two, I think Golden State probably wins more championships. They probably win more games.\u201dBeverley’s point was pretty straightforward: Paul George’s dual-threat capability could have given the Warriors added flexibility and scoring power, particularly in situations where key players were missing. As a nine-time All-Star, George has consistently been lauded for his shot creation, high-level defense, and all-around contributions.<\/p>\n

Klay Thompson praised for his defense and dirty work<\/p>\n

Even though he praised George, Beverley was quick to stand up for Thompson when his co-host called him a “role player.” This part of the chat really showed Beverley’s respect for Thompson’s contributions, pushing back against any idea that his impact was less significant.\u201cI\u2019ve never looked at Klay Thompson as a role player,\u201d Beverley asserted. He elaborated on the distinction: \u201cI think the confusion with role players and what people compare\u2026 role players are guys who don\u2019t score a lot, who do the dirty work. I think Klay does the dirty work, and he guarded the second-best player, if it were a wing. Obviously, they\u2019re going to put Draymond on the big.\u201dBeverley pointed out Thompson’s exceptional scoring talent, mentioning that genuine role players don’t rack up 50 points or sink 10 threes in one game\u2014achievements Thompson has pulled off on multiple occasions. \u201cIn my mind, he does the small things when it comes to defending, but scoring 50 and hitting 10 threes isn\u2019t what role players do. Role players are supposed to come in and give you eight to 12 points, take charges, and be a lightning rod,\u201d he said.Wrapping up his defense, Beverley paid homage to Thompson’s artistry: \u201cKlay Thompson would light you up. I\u2019ve never seen a prettier shot in my entire life. As a hooper, you look at Klay and it\u2019s just so pretty. You can watch him shoot all day.\u201dAlso Read: \u201cMake sure you wear con**m out there\u201d \u2014 Jokic sends unforgettable message to Michael Porter Jr<\/a>Legends like Klay Thompson and stars like Paul George will always spark debates, but that\u2019s the beauty of the game, there\u2019s no single way to define greatness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Klay Thompson of the Dallas Mavericks shoots the ball before the game against the Memphis Grizzlies (Image via…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":247424,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3786],"tags":[7,479,164,4025,4024,5758,498,41993,41991,41990,6,41992,38921,526,41994,1988,255],"class_list":{"0":"post-247423","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-golden-state-warriors","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-golden-state","10":"tag-golden-state-warriors","11":"tag-goldenstate","12":"tag-goldenstatewarriors","13":"tag-klay","14":"tag-klay-thompson","15":"tag-klay-thompson-defense","16":"tag-klay-thompson-role-player-debate","17":"tag-klay-thompson-shooting-ability","18":"tag-nba","19":"tag-nba-all-star-paul-george","20":"tag-nba-player-comparisons","21":"tag-paul-george","22":"tag-paul-george-adaptability","23":"tag-thompson","24":"tag-warriors"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115079783057257681","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247423","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=247423"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247423\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/247424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=247423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=247423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=247423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}