SPORT NEWS: Ranking Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson’s 10 best games in Splash Brothers era .giang

After 13 seasons together, the Splash Brothers broke up over the summer when the Dallas Mavericks acquired Klay Thompson via sign-and-trade.

Stephen Curry and Thompson went to six Finals and won four championships together, and along the way, they had many games worthy of remembrance.

Ahead, I’ve ranked their 10 best games. Note that this exercise aimed to find the best individual games they played and not their best combined performances.

The quality of the player’s performance received the most weight. The game’s memorability and stakes were also considered.

Klay

Game 6 vs. Houston in 2018 Western Conference Finals: Facing elimination, Thompson erupted for 35 points with nine threes. The Warriors then beat the Rockets in Game 7 before sweeping the Cavaliers for their third NBA title of the Splash Brothers era.

Game 2 @ San Antonio in 2013 Western Conference semis: Coming off a devastating double-overtime loss in Game 1, Thompson recorded 34 points (8-of-9 from three) and a career-high 14 rebounds to get the Dubs a split in San Antonio.

Game 6 vs. Memphis in 2022 Western Conference semis: Curry was just 6-of-20 in the first three quarters, but Thompson picked him up with 27 efficient points in the first 36 minutes. Klay then hit the kill shot that effectively punched Golden State’s ticket to the conference finals and gave Warriors fans one last Game 6 Klay moment.

Steph

Game 7 vs. OKC in 2016 Western Conference Finals: Game 6 Klay was born one game before this one, but the Warriors still had to finish the Thunder off. Steph had 36 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter, and eight assists to secure a 96-88 win.

Game 5 vs. Cleveland in 2015 Finals: With the series tied 2-2 and the score tied 75-75, Curry checked in and scored 17 of his 37 points in the game’s final nine minutes. The Warriors went on to win Game 5 and then secured their first title in 40 years two days later.

Game 6 @ Houston in 2019 Western Conference semis: Curry had zero points at halftime, but he scored 33 in the second half, including 23 in the fourth quarter, to knock out the Rockets. This game would easily rank in the top 10 if the only criterion were how memorable the game was, but the fact that he struggled so much in the first half pushes this to the honorable mention slide.

Stat line: 30 PTS, 8-of-12 FG, 4-of-6 3PT, 5 REB, 2 STL

This is Klay Thompson’s most iconic moment.

When Thompson was fouled on a dunk attempt late in the third quarter, it seemed likely that he had torn his ACL. So he was helped to the locker room to get confirmation of the devastating injury.

But if Golden State had someone else shoot the free throws awarded from the foul on Thompson, the Splash Brother would be forced to miss the rest of the game. When Thompson got word of this, he limped back from the tunnel to the court, made both of his free throws and then tried to keep playing the game for a few seconds before the Warriors committed an intentional foul so Thompson could check out of the game.

Before the injury, Thompson was playing perhaps the best game of his career considering the stakes and the quality of the opponent. In that sense, one could argue this game should be in the top five of these rankings. But even though it’s not his fault he couldn’t play long enough to score more, it’s 10th because every game listed above had at least 40 points from Steph or Klay.

Without Thompson for the last 14 minutes of the game, the Warriors suffered a heartbreaking loss, as the Raptors won their first NBA title. It would take Thompson 941 days to return to an NBA game, as a torn Achilles suffered in November 2020 made him miss a second consecutive season.

Stat line: 40 PTS, 12-of-19 FG, 7-of-9 3PT, 7 AST, 5 REB, 2 STL, 1 BLK

The Warriors entered this game with a 2-0 series lead, but it didn’t feel like the Rockets were out of it. They lost the two games by a combined five points, and they were headed home, where they went 30-11 in the regular season.

Curry delivered one of his most ruthless performances, scoring 40 points in just 35 minutes. He played only four minutes in the fourth quarter because the Warriors were up by 30, and they went on to win 115-80.

By Game Score, this was the third-best playoff performance of Curry’s career. The two above this one were Game 7 vs. the Kings, which will appear later on this list, and Game 3 vs. the Raptors. That Raptors game was considered for this article, as even though the Warriors lost, Curry was magnificent with 47 points. But Curry faded in the fourth quarter of that game (1-of-5 shooting), which put it just out of reach of this ranking.

Stat line: 52 PTS, 18-of-29 FG, 14-of-24 3PT, 4 REB, 2 STL

Thompson entered this game shooting 13.9 percent from three in the first seven contests of Golden State’s 2018-19 season. Suffice to say, he was due.

Thompson made 14 threes, breaking Curry’s record of 13. He played just 26 minutes and 33 seconds, and he was subbed out of the game for good with four minutes to go in the third quarter because the Warriors were up by 41.

Scoring 52 points in under 27 minutes is impressive, but Thompson had an even more impressive point-per-minute ratio in a game that’s mentioned later in this article.

Stat line: 62 PTS, 18-of-31 FG, 8-of-16 3PT, 5 REB, 4 AST

This is the only game on the list in which one of the Splash Brothers was injured for the entire contest. With Thompson out for the season with a torn Achilles, the Warriors were off to a 2-3 start to the 2020-21 season, and all three losses were by at least 25 points.

Curry was shooting just 42.0 percent from the field and 32.1 percent from three, leading some to wonder if he could be as effective without Thompson.

He answered that emphatically with a career-high 62 points against the Trail Blazers.

Curry finished the season third in MVP voting with averages of 32.0 points and 5.8 assists per game.

Stat line: 60 PTS, 21-of-33 FG, 8-of-14 3PT, 10-of-11 FT, 2 REB, 1 AST, 0 TOV

Thompson set a career high with 60 points in December 2016 against the Pacers, but yet there’s a feeling of what could have been. That’s because Thompson’s last points of the game came with two-and-a-half minutes left in the third quarter.

Had Thompson been given the chance to play the fourth quarter, he might have given Kobe a run for his money.

Thompson dominated this game with his off-ball movement, taking only 11 dribbles to score 60 points.

To this day, Thompson is the only player in NBA history to finish a game with 60-plus points in under 30 minutes.

Stat line: 46 PTS, 14-of-24 FG, 12-of-16 3PT, 6 AST, 2 STL

As regular-season games go, the stakes were quite high. The 2015-16 Warriors were 52-5, and every game was critical in their pursuit of a 73-win season. The Thunder were 41-17 and clearly one of the biggest obstacles to a Golden State repeat championship.

By Game Score, this was actually Curry’s fifth-best game of his unanimous MVP season, but it makes the list because of how it ended.

Curry pulled up from 37 feet and drained a three-pointer with 0.6 seconds remaining in overtime to break a 118-118 tie. Announcer Mike Breen was so hyped up that he said “bang!” twice, which added to the lore of the moment.

Though Curry has had dozens of clutch moments in the playoffs that could have been highlighted here instead, this game-winning shot is arguably the most memorable moment of his career.

Stat line: 52 PTS, 16-of-25 FG, 11-of-15 3PT, 5 AST, 4 STL, 2 BLK

In January 2015, the 34-6 Warriors were playing against the 16-26 Kings, and no one had any idea what they were about to witness.

Even entering halftime, there was no clue that something special was about to happen. Thompson had 13 points on 3-of-9 shooting.

Then he got hot.

Thompson went 13-of-13 from the field and 9-of-9 from three in the third quarter, setting an NBA record with 37 points in a quarter. The flurry at the end of the quarter was truly a sight to behold.

Golden State’s last seven possessions of the third finished as so:

– Thompson three-pointer
– Thompson layup
– Thompson three-pointer
– Thompson 15-footer
– Thompson three-pointer
– Thompson three-pointer
– Thompson two free throws

That’s 18 points in a three-minute span over seven possessions. Astonishing.

Stat line: 50 PTS, 20-of-38 FG, 7-of-18 3PT, 8 REB, 6 AST

The first 50-point performance in a Game 7 doesn’t make the top two of this list, which says a lot about what’s to come.

The Warriors were the defending champs heading into this series, but they were also the lower seed after having a brutal 11-30 regular-season road record. The prospect of a Game 7 in Sacramento after having been blown out at home in Game 6 seemed daunting.

But Curry wouldn’t let Golden State lose.

Curry had 30 second-half points, and a tie game at halftime turned into a 20-point blowout.

Two factors hold this back from the top two on this list.

Most importantly, this was a first-round game (the two to come happened deeper into the postseason). The other is that the Warriors pulled away so quickly that there weren’t any clutch moments in the fourth quarter. The clutch moments of the top two make them more memorable.

Stat line: 41 points, 14-of-31 FG, 11-of-18 3PT, 4 REB, 1 STL, 1 BLK

The stakes are always high when a team has to win a road game down 3-2 in the conference finals. What made them feel a bit higher here was Golden State’s 73-9 regular season. Anything short of a championship would take away from that record-breaking year.

The Warriors were trailing for most of the game, but it seemed like every time they were about to fall too far behind to mount a comeback, Thompson hit another three. He set a then-NBA-record with 11 three-pointers in a postseason game, including five in the fourth quarter.

The degree of difficulty on some of them was breathtaking.

Thompson broke a 101-101 tie with a three late in the fourth quarter, and Curry finished the Thunder off with a floater off the glass to seal a dramatic victory.

Curry (31 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists) had a great game himself, but no one disputes that Thompson spearheaded the victory to save the Warriors’ season.

Golden State went on to win Game 7 before losing to the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals.

Stat line: 43 PTS, 14-of-26 FG, 7-of-14 3PT, 10 REB, 4 AST

Steph’s Game 4 vs. Boston or Klay’s Game 6 vs. OKC is a tough choice.

Regarding how memorable they are, it feels about even.

Regarding how high the stakes were, Thompson’s was a conference finals elimination game (Golden State trailed 3-2), but Curry’s was a virtual must-win in the Finals (Golden State trailed 2-1). So these are about equal.

Regarding the quality of the performance, Curry’s stat line is slightly more impressive, but Thompson had 19 points in the fourth quarter of his game, and Curry had 10 in his.

Curry gets the nod because he had to create more offense—his own and that of others—than Thompson did, but this is extremely nitpicky. It wasn’t like Thompson was getting open catch-and-shoot looks the whole game, as the difficulty of a few of his threes was off the charts.

Among Warriors fans, I suspect Curry’s Game 4 will take the top spot for decades to come because Golden State won the championship in 2022, whereas it didn’t in 2016. To be clear, that didn’t factor into their ranking here, but I could see why a Warriors fan would say it should.