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Miami Heat forward Klay Thompson (11) takes questions during the NBA basketball team’s media day, Monday, Sept. 28, 2026, in Miami.<\/p>\n
Jim Rassol\/AP Photo\/Jim Rassol<\/p>\n
BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) \u2014 Klay Thompson’s legacy was secured long ago. He was part of four championship teams with Golden State, is one of the best shooters the NBA has ever seen, holds the league’s single-game record for 3-pointers made and is surely headed to the Basketball Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n
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And that’s why the Miami Heat pounced quickly when the 36-year-old Thompson was bought out by the Dallas Mavericks over the summer. They’re convinced that Thompson still has much to offer and will flourish on a new-look Heat with Giannis Antetokounmpo teaming up with Bam Adebayo.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to be able to look back one day and say I gave it everything I had,\u201d Thompson said Tuesday after his first training camp practice with the Heat, held at Florida Atlantic University. \u201cAnd I think being with the Heat, it gives me that opportunity. They\u2019re wholly committed to winning. And I’ve said this before: winning trumps any individual performance I\u2019ve ever had. To be a part of a season of chasing that goal is special.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thompson’s resume is almost beyond compare.<\/p>\n
He’s made at least 200 3-pointers in a season 11 times; that’s second-most in NBA history behind his former Golden State teammate and \u201cSplash Brother\u201d Stephen Curry, who has 12 such seasons. With 2,899 career 3s, he’s only 74 behind former Heat guard Ray Allen for No. 3 on the all-time list \u2014 and 101 away from the 3,000-made milestone, something only Curry and James Harden have surpassed.<\/p>\n
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And here’s one that not everyone might expect: Thompson \u2014 even without being a full-time starter \u2014 is also the only player in the NBA with at least 200 made 3s in each of the last four seasons. He made 202 last season in Dallas, despite playing a career-low 21.7 minutes per game.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat Klay\u2019s done in this league, I think should be celebrated and respected in our locker room \u2014 which it is,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. \u201cWe can take from those experiences. And I think also he can be excited about this possibility of a new experience to be able to create hopefully something similar, but in a different way and a different locker room and different culture.\u201d<\/p>\n
The general perception is that Thompson will play a role similar to what Allen played in the Heat era that featured LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. If defenders help off Thompson, it’s likely that they’ll pay by leaving one of the best shooters in the world \u2014 someone who doesn’t need much time to get a shot off \u2014 open. And if they don’t help off him, that’s just going to make life easier for Adebayo, Antetokounmpo and everyone else in Heat colors.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’ve got former champions,\u201d Heat guard Davion Mitchell said. \u201cThey know what it takes to win.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Thompson is about to enter his 14th season, not counting two missed because of injury. He\u2019s a career 41% shooter from beyond the arc, is a five-time All-Star and has made at least 10 3s in a game on nine different occasions.<\/p>\n