Klay Thompson Explains New Number On Mavericks Jersey

Since Kyrie Irving wears 11 on the Dallas Mavericks, Klay chose to wear 31 as his new jersey number. It’s definitely an unfamiliar visual to many, but the legendary shooter chose to wear 31 to pay homage to another legendary shooter in the NBA Reggie Miller.

Shortly after Larry Bird departed from the league, Reggie Miller was known as the best 3-point shooter in the league for many years. He once held the record for most 3-pointers made all-time in the NBA until Ray Allen eventually broke that record. Thompson is currently 6th all-time in most 3-pointers made, behind Miller. Klay’s former teammate, Steph Curry, is at the top of that list, which is no surprise.

How Could The Mavericks Do Next Season With Klay Thompson?

Klay can be a solid third option for Dallas when their two main stars, Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic, are in a slump. Thompson averaged nearly 18 points last season, only one point short of his career average 19. He shot 38% from beyond the arc last season, below his career average of 41% from the 3-ball.

The Mavs nearly pulled out a miraculous run to a title but lost to the Celtics in five games last year. They overcame the Los Angeles Clippers, the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the Minnesota Timberwolves before making it to the finals.

They could have another harsh playoff run as the Western Conference got even stronger this offseason.  Could they make another NBA Finals run? Yeah, they could. However, it’ll be a tougher run compared to last season.

The Demar DeRozan acquisition the Kings got from Chicago greatly helped Sacramento. Denver lost Caldwell-Pope to the Orlando Magic, but they’re still a strong team. Minnesota retained all of their pieces so far this offseason and will have a better gameplan when they run into the Mavs again.

Oklahoma City is going into this season with playoff experience and a little bit more age. Their pick-up of Isaiah Hartenstein from the Knicks was the key piece they were missing. He’ll add more size and strength to their center position, and possibly having Chet play the four can definitely scare their opponents.

If the Mavericks could fine-tune their game of creating open 3-ball shots from the corner, allow Kyrie and Luka to improve their chemistry even more, and adjust how they cut to the basket for their alley-oops, they can still be a threat in the Western Conference.