Klay Thompson is Probably the 5th Best Two-Way Player in the NBA, and That's Not a Slight

Klay Thompson is certainly one of the 15 best players in the NBA, a shooting guard with a perfect stroke who is capable of exploding for 20 points in a quarter or 40 points in a game. Thompson’s also a superb defender; he moves his feet exceptionally well and his long arms are extremely disruptive.

Let the record state that with Stephen Curry injured against the Blazers, Thompson was tremendous, leading the Warriors with 31 ppg in five games and shooting 50 percent on three-pointers. The son of former Lakers center Mychal Thompson, Klay’s career-best game was certainly the 41-point explosion in Game 6 against the Thunder, including an NBA-record 11 three-pointers.

I say all of this because I disagree with Mark Jackson, though not by much. When you’re talking ‘the best’ anything in the NBA, the separation isn’t large. Best 2-way players (after Lebron, of course) is a logjam. If you found 20 NBA fans and asked them the best 2-way players excluding LeBron, my guess is the four most popular answers would be these guys, in some order:

1) LeBron

2) Kawhi Leonard
3) Russell Westbrook
4) Anthony Davis
5) Klay Thompson

Leonard’s the best individual defender in this group (though Kevin Durant lit him up in the playoffs), and Westbrook’s the singular best offensive force. Davis gets overlooked because he’s on a bad team, but he’s only 23 years old and has averaged 20-10 each of the last three seasons, plus he led the league in blocks in 2014-2015. He may be capable of defending every position.

The biggest difference of this quartet? Leonard and Davis are the best players on their teams; Westbrook shares that honor with Durant in OKC. Given the importance of Draymond Green and the two-time MVP Curry, Thompson is probably the 3rd most important Warriors player. When your 3rd best player is a Top 5 two-way player in the NBA, you can see why the Warriors are in the midst of a dynasty.