It probably won’t be featured on his Hall of Fame plaque, but Klay Thompson committed the greatest technical foul in Christmas Day NBA history on Sunday night.
Thompson, with the game clock dwindling down and the Warriors enjoying a healthy lead, taunted Dillon Brooks with an epic gallop move. Thompson had hit a shot over Brooks, sending the fiery Grizzlies forward to the ground in the process.
After the game, Thompson detailed what went into the moment destined to go viral.
“Just some good ol’ fashioned trash talk,” Thompson said postgame. “I didn’t think it warranted a technical, but I forgot about the taunting rule. It’s always fun to talk trash. We’ve been doing that since we were in middle school. That’s when you either play your best or you’re frazzled. For me, it’s usually the former.”
At the time of Thompson’s technical foul, the Warriors led by 16 points. Thompson finished with 24 points — plus the all-time troll — compared to Brooks’ 13.
“Klay’s crazy,” Donte DiVincenzo (19 points) said postgame. “He’s a funny guy, plays with a lot of emotion. I love it.”
Brooks’ history with the Warriors is already deep. Last year in the playoffs, his hard foul injured Gary Payton II and warranted a suspension. When the Warriors eventually eliminated the Grizzlies in six games, Brooks let everyone know where he felt the hierarchy of Western Conference power going.
“They know we’re going to come every single year,” Brooks said last May. “We’re young and they’re getting old.”
Then before Sunday’s game, Brooks said he wants to match up with Thompson.
“But I got Klay [Thompson],” Brooks said Thursday. “I like that matchup a little better because he was talking a little smack before when we lost.”
Brooks was likely referring to Thompson’s comments after the Warriors won the title in which he referred to one Grizzly as a “freakin’ bum” and said they’ve got “Twitter fingers.”
Thompson wasn’t the only one who got into it with Brooks. At one point during Sunday’s game, Draymond Green flashed four fingers toward Brooks, indicating Golden State’s four titles. He also jumped out of his seat with an overexaggerated celebration when Brooks missed a technical foul shot.
Jordan Poole, who was ejected because he picked up two technical fouls, also got into Brooks’ ear during the Christmas win. Poole finished with 32 points in 29 minutes.
The Warriors got slapped with six technical fouls overall in the chippy, emotional contest.
“There’s really nothing that could be said that would ruffle our feathers,” Thompson said. “Back in the mid-2010s, I used to take a lot of that stuff to heart. But now being 12 years in this league, I’m just worried about what we can do and being the best we can be.”
Brooks is apparently not at that level yet. After the game, he railed against the officiating crew despite Memphis getting called for one technical, on a delay of game, to GSW’s six.
“Refs let it happen,” Brooks said postgame. “(Thompson) was doing it all game and then they want to catch the bad guy, you know what I’m saying, and that’s wack to me. Fucking up calls, putting the wrong guys on the free throw line, like it was a circus. Should have had different refs.”
The snippiness will undoubtedly continue. The Warriors and Grizzlies have three more regular season meetings scheduled. And since Memphis has been one of the best teams in the West, a playoff rematch is quite possible.
“We’re trying to hold these young bucks off as long as we can,” Thompson said. “We know it’s a tall task. It’s a long season. And it was a good night to send a message because you never know what (teams) you’re going to see down the road.”