Who is he: Klay Thompson is a shooting guard who currently plays for the Golden State Warriors. As one of the Splash Brothers (with Curry) he is one of the greatest shooters of his generation. A multiple all star and NBA champion, he may be the greatest catch and shoot shoot player in history.
Body Type: Klay Thompson is a tall shooting guard with a prototypical athletic build for his position. His height allows for him to shoot over guards and bigs who are trying to chase him off the 3 point line. He has a very athletic build which allows for a great first step and to be able to shoot jump shots of the dribble. His strong legs allow for a little less dip and to be able shoot with contact.
Mechanics: His mechanics are textbook. Along with being a pure shooter his mechanics are so clean that it is hard to find flaw in his shot. He starts with always being prepared to shoot. He does this by having his arms in a shooting form with a traditional box, this allows hime to always be square to the basket. When he is in motion for a catch and shoot he will square his shoulders towards the basket and have his hands up. Klay uses a jump step before the catch and shoot. This is a very advanced footwork that he uses to allow for less dip and a quicker release. Klay’s hands on the ball are in the more traditional form with his shooting hand under the ball on his fingertips and his non shooting hand on the side. This gives him the almost perfect box form and a repeatable shot. but what truly separates Klay is his release point. He fully extends his shooting arm out of a 45 degree angle to release the ball from the highest point possible. As a result the energy flows completely through his body thus creating a very high arching shot with a lot of rotation. This does two things: One the shot is very accurate and two it allows for soft rebounds that are easy to follow his shot and put backs for rebounders. Lastly, with his hips and lead hand always pointing towards the basket combined with his flawless straight line posture leads to what may be the most complete shooting form in NBA history.
How he gets his shot off: Like Reggie Miller (his closest comparable) he works off the ball looking for screens and or creating chaos on the base line. He is a tireless worker off the ball always looking to get open. However, what really sets him apart is that his space is created by his on the ball shooting which may in fact be more deadly. This forces defenders to guess which way he gong to go when he gets ball as he has great vision and ball handling skills. He is a threat to shoot from anywhere on the court as he doesn’t seem to favor a spot to shoot from. Lastly, like his fellow splash brother Curry, Klay is ultra competitive with unlimited range.
