Per ESPN’s Marc Stein, Klay Thompson inked a four-year, $70 million max contract extension with the Golden State Warriors Friday afternoon, and the 24-year-old couldn’t have been happier to continue his tenure in Oakland.
“It’s hard for me to express how excited and happy I am to know that I will be playing in front of the best fans in the NBA for a long time,” Thompson said. “This team, under this ownership group and with this collection of players, has an incredibly bright future. I could not ask for a better situation and am extremely thankful.”
Warriors general manager Bob Myers said in a statement how thrilled the team was to finally solidify a long-term deal with Thompson’s camp.
“We’re excited to have one of the top young players in the NBA under contract for the next several years,” said Myers. “Our ownership group continues to demonstrate the commitment necessary to build a championship caliber team and we anticipate that Klay Thompson will play a major role in our future success and accomplishments, both on the floor and in the Bay Area community.”
Thompson wasn’t the only one happy with his lucrative new deal, either.
Teammates like Stephen Curry took to Twitter to give his Splash Brother a shoutout after news of the deal broke.
“Shoutout to [Klay Thompson] getting that extension!” Curry said. “Happy for you bro. Well deserved. Splash bros continue.”
Other teammates like Festus Ezeli, Brandon Rush and Andrew Bogut also joined in congratulating Thompson via Twitter, as well as former teammates like Kent Bazemore.
Even former Warriors head coach Mark Jackson took time to wish his former player congratulations after reports surfaced.
“Congrats to [Klay Thompson]!” Jackson tweeted. “Well Deserved my man! Continued Blessings”.
With the contract extension deadline for 2011 rookies drawing to a close, the Warriors were unable to lock up the 6-foot-7-inch sharpshooter long term until after Friday’s practice.
Andre Iguodala, a strong supporter of Thompson’s pursuit of a max deal, was sure to express his continued support for his teammate during post-practice interviews.
“I think our job as [Klay’s] teammates is to continue to support him, to continue to try to help him play to the highest of his abilities,” said Iguodala. “I’ll definitely continue to sacrifice for him because you know that’s my guy…[and] any teammate you want to see do well, not just on the court but in their pockets as well.”
When asked after practice whether he believed Thompson would play differently if a deal was not reached, head coach Steve Kerr was prophetic in telling the media he had faith Thompson would continue being the competitor he is.
“Once today is done, whether they have a deal or not,” said Kerr, “I know Klay is gonna play and compete and enjoy himself out on the floor.”
They say good things come to those who wait, so expect greater things to come from Thompson this season.
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