The Untold Story Of Stephen Curry & Klay Thompson.

One was born in the west of the states, the other was born in the east. One has a dog named Rocco, and the other has a dog named Rookie. One is a bit more on the quiet side, and the other is always looking for a good joke. The one thing both of them have in common, however, is that they've both been getting yelled at by Draymond Green for pretty much the last ten years. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the untold story about the Splash brothers Clay Thompson, the Beast of the Bay, and Steph Curry, the Chef. The story all starts with their parents, who were athletes themselves. Their fathers, Michael Thompson and Del Curry, were both important players in the NBA, and their mothers, Sonya Curry and Julie Thompson, both were collegiate volleyball players. But that's not all, guys. They also both had brothers who ended up as basketball players themselves. You remember a certain Seth Curry and Michael Thompson? Yeah, those guys. Now, when it comes to the Splash brothers, both Curry and Clay were highly recruited by college basketball programs. Neither got top college scholarship like many top-rated basketball players today. Curry was asked to be a walk-on by Virginia Tech, and only landed a recruitment at a mid-major basketball program at Davidson, which was a small private school. Clay, on the other hand, also, underappreciated and overlooked, got into Washington State University, a small basketball program by any basketball standards. But beginnings don't always have to be ends, guys, and you'll soon see why. Curry finished his senior college year averaging 28.6 points per game and led the NCAA in scoring. Clay, on the other hand, averaged 21.6 points in his third college season and set the all-time record for the most points in a season for Washington State. Now, even though they were drafted into the NBA two years apart from each other, they were both still doubted by practically everyone due to their lack of athleticism, size, and defensive abilities. Curry was drafted in 2009 with the seventh overall pick, following a lot of criticism, and two years later, Clay Thompson in 2011 came into the Warriors roster with the 11th pick. So guys, obviously, the similar backgrounds they both shared already showed traces of their inevitable fraternity. Maybe this is why it was a piece of cake for them to sync so perfectly, who knows? But on the basketball court, they looked like twins who were separated at birth, but later on, found their way back to each other. And it was this perfect basketball chemistry and brilliance of shooting that Brian Witt, a writer of the Golden State Warriors, saw when he first coined the name hashtag Splash Brothers in a tweet during the team's matchup with the Charlotte Bobcats in December 2012, after the young backcourt combined for 25 points and 7 threes by halftime. Brian would later say that the nickname was inspired by the Bash Brothers, another moniker for two baseball players, Jose Canseco and Mark McGuire, who played for the Oakland Athletics, also from the San Francisco Bay Area, just like the Warriors. Well done, Brian. On the court, the Splash Brothers are deadly snipers with the same goal, winning a championship. Off the court, well, they are cool, but they actually don't hang out too often, which is understandably not too surprising, because they lead such different lifestyles and do not have a lot in common. Clay is a carefree single man who loves being out in the ocean. Curry, on the other hand, is married and a father of three. Don't get the picture wrong, though. The two Splash Brothers have a real deep relationship. Earlier in the 2020-21 season, when the fans were allowed back at the Chase Center, as the crowd roared when the Warriors defeated the Denver Nuggets, the TV cameras caught Clay seemingly fighting back tears, and at the same time, Curry noticed this and went to console him on the bench. When Michael Thompson, Clay's father, saw this, he commented, It just made me realize what a great lifetime bond they have. That's what makes it so special playing with a guy like Steph and Draymond. Those three, what they've gone through together, they will always have that close connection. When Steph Curry was asked what it was like without having Clay in the locker room, he had this to say, It's different, man. He's such a unique player and such a huge part of our DNA and who we are as a team. However, when they're together, you'd think they were best friends. I mean, when they had to determine who was going to speak in honor of Andre Iguodala, they settled it in an old-fashioned way. Honor Andre and speak publicly. Steph got Clay twice. Now, we all know the milestones they've set together, the three championships they've won together, but before all these accolades started to pile up, what was their relationship like early on when they first joined the Warriors? Well, according to Draymond, Clay doesn't stop talking now. But back when he first joined the Warriors in 2011, Clay was actually a real extremely silent person, so I'm not entirely too sure if he and Steph even had full-out conversations. When Clay Thompson first made his Warriors debut, he had to come off the bench for Curry and another Warriors star at the time in Monta Ellis. Monta was also the one who gave the assist to Clay's first three-point made shot for the Warriors. It was like Monta was passing on to Clay his blessings of the final piece to complete the great duo of the bay. Thanks, Monta. Nevertheless, the greatness only first manifested in the 2012-2013 season when Curry and Thompson started playing fully together after Monta's exit. They broke the record for the most combined threes by a backcourt in a season with 483 three-pointers. This was a monumental feat for the youngster guys, but it was only going to get better and more thrilling. At the end of the following season, they had set another shooting milestone as a duo becoming the first teammates to finish first and second in three-pointers. Curry made 261 and Clay 223. After they made this accomplishment, ESPN.com wrote, No backcourt in history has rivaled the Splash Brothers in both categories of three-point volume and efficiency. The duo, as cool as can be, went into the 2014 FIBA World Cup and shot more threes than any of their other teammates. Listen to this, guys. Team USA won the cup. Yeah, we all know that. But do you know from all 77 three-pointers made in the tournament, the Splash Brothers made 43 of them combined. It was also during this time that it was first recorded that the two of them hung out outside of the basketball court together. Curry confirmed this by saying, We went to lunch. We went to the beach. We played golf twice. We went out one night. It helped our bond. Clay also had something to say about their time together, even though it was about Curry beating him at golf. Of course he got me. He's a scratch golfer. I'm not bad. Honestly, the course suited me because I only had to use the driver once. So I had to use my irons. When I pull out the driver, it's all bad. I was keeping it up, though. I wasn't getting killed. Anyway, moving on. These guys obviously meant business and were also good for business. But in the 2014 offseason, the Warriors management had almost had a lapse in judgment when they considered trading off Clay for Kevin Love. But thankfully, with all due respect to Love, the deal was killed with Clay signing a four-year $70 million contract extension. So as if to prove the breakup of their bond would be a disastrous move for the franchise, the duo started off the 2014-2015 season winning 18 of their first 20 games. They also started as guards in the 2015 NBA All-Star Tournament, becoming the first teammate since 1975 to do so. And in addition, Steph Curry also won the three-point contest. It was also in 2015 that they both won their first NBA championship and combined for 525 threes, finishing first and second on the three-point scoring list for that season. Damn. Good thing that trade didn't go through. The following season, they made it to the NBA All-Star game, went into the final rounds of the three-point contest, just like the year before. However, Clay came up victorious, this time over Curry, taking the three-point shooting crown off of the chef. After competing in the All-Star game like that, they led their team to a record 73 wins a season and combined for a record-breaking 678 three-pointers. My goodness. Moving on, in the 2016-2017 season, the Splash Brothers became the first teammates in the history of the NBA to make over 203 pointers in 5 consecutive seasons. These records were extended to 6 consecutive the next season, but let's not get ahead of ourselves too quickly because it was in the 2016-17 season that Curry first set the record for the most threes in a game with 13, which Clay broke a season later with 14 threes. It's just amazing, guys. But with all the splashes by the brothers, they finally faced a wall in 2019 when Clay Thompson tore his ACL after a dunk attempt that Steph tried to set him up for. It has been two years since the incident, and although the Splash Brothers haven't shared a court together in what seems to be forever, although the two still live completely different lives off the basketball court, they are still the Splash Brothers. Steph Curry reminded us of that when he dedicated the 2021 three-point trophy to Clay. I get to bring this home finally. The Splash Bros, we are back, so this one goes out to Clay Thompson. We got it done, big fella. Clay responded, I appreciate you, big bro. Thanks for bringing her back where she belongs. Hashtag ya-ya-ria. Hashtag Splash God. Anyway, have you been keeping up with the Warriors news and updates these days? If not, I've got you covered right here in this video, where I go over recent Warriors news and updates during the 2021 offseason. Don't miss out because it's big and makes me so excited to see what is coming up this 2022 season for the Warriors. I can smell a championship. Can you? Anyway, click the video, guys. Watch it, enjoy it, and I will see you on the other side.