Dallas Mavericks star Klay Thompson jumped into the fray to defend himself in a debate over whether fans would rather have him or Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Ray Allen on their team based on their entire careers. The @swishlistpod Instagram shared a video featuring the Thompson vs. Allen debate question and provided some relevant career achievements.
For example, Allen was a 10-time All-Star compared to Thompson's five times, and both players made the All-NBA Team twice in their careers. One major distinction: Allen reached the NBA Finals four times in his career and won two championships, while Thompson reached the NBA Finals, all with the Golden State Warriors, and won four championships. Statistically, Allen had slightly higher points, assists, rebounds, and steals during his career than Thompson.
Thompson has a higher average for blocks per game. Allen also scored over 24,505 points during his 18 seasons, while Thompson has just over 17,346 before entering another NBA season. More news: Jaylen Brown ‘Offended’ by NBA 2K27 Player Rating on 76ers In the comments, fans commented about which player they'd rather have based on their entire body of work, and it brought some criticism about how Thompson was the second-scoring option for the Warriors teams behind Stephen Curry.
"Klay has never been a first option. Ray was a top 10 player in his first 10 years," one commenter wrote, who received 114 likes from those agreeing. Thompson jumped into that thread, replying to the first comment and keeping the debate going as others weighed in.
"Holy [expletive] I led the 2016 playoffs in points scored you casuals," the former Warriors star replied in a comment on that thread. "I love Ray Allen but to say it 'ain’t close' is nasty work," he also replied to a commenter. "You do realize I was the 2nd leading scorer on two championship teams without KD ?
You want me to go to a bad team and put up empty stats , that’s easy buddy," Thompson also fired back in the thread. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DcPNi2zB5Qe/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsi=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ== Clearly, Thompson took serious exception to the individuals trying to put him below Allen for their respective careers. As it stands, Allen had the better statistical averages. Still, Thompson's four rings are probably something Allen might prefer over two, since most players will contend that their main goal when they enter the league is to win championships.
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