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HOUSTON – The topic caused Warriors guard Klay Thompson to shake his head in amazement. He offered the same reaction when he swishes a 3-pointer or makes a defensive stop.
Thompson will to try to fulfill that same job description when the Warriors (1-0) play against the Houston Rockets in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals on Wednesday. Thompson will do so against Houston guard James Harden, whose presence left Thompson expressing both nostalgia and appreciation for how it shaped his development.
“It’s pretty wild,” Thompson said. “He’s been there for the biggest stage of almost every point in my career.”
That point started in high school when Harden (Artesia High) and Thompson (Rancho Santa Margarita Catholic High) squared off in both the 2006 CIF Southern Section championship game and the second-round of the Southern California Regionals, both of which resulted in Thompson’s alma mater losing.
It continued in college when Thompson (Washington State) went 2-0 against Harden (Arizona State) in head-to-head matchups.
It evolved when Thompson (Warriors) and Harden (Oklahoma City, Thunder) competed against each other through 23 NBA regular-season games and two playoff series (2015 Western Conference Finals, first round of 2016 NBA playoffs), both of which ended with the Warriors winning in five games. While Harden has appeared in six NBA All-Star games, Thompson has played in four.
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Because of that history, Thompson considered his matchup with Harden to be “a rivalry.” Thompson added, “it’s fun when you got those” for obvious reasons. While Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni called Harden and Thompson “two of the best players in the league,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr considered them “the two best shooting guards in the league.”
“I don’t even know if it’s a rivalry,” Harden said. “You see two men now out of the same area who just grew to become pretty good players in this league. We have similar stories as far as nobody ever gave us a chance. We had to make our way and find our way.”
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Tracing their history
Unlike most future All-Star players that crossed paths during their childhood, Thompson and Harden did not produce any head-to-head highlights in high school.
Sure, Thompson still laments his sophomore season ended with Harden leading Artesia to a 2006 CIF title and second-round state playoff victory during his junior year at Thompson’s expense. Yet, the context hardly mirrors Game 1’s output when Harden scored 41 points while Thompson added 28. As former Artesia coach Scott Pera admitted about Thompson, “he wasn’t much on the scouting report.”
“No disrespect. He obviously now is a phenomenal player,” said Pera, who is now the head coach of Rice University’s men’s basketball team. “But I honestly don’t recall much about him then.”
It did not take long for Thompson to make a more lasting impression. During his senior season, Thompson led Rancho Santa Margarita Catholic High to a state championship in 2008 and set a state finals record with seven 3-pointers.
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By then, though, Harden played for Arizona State during his freshman season. Thompson had just committed to Washington State. Though both players advanced to the college level, their trajectory still appeared uncertain.
“My hope is that Klay would be able to go to college and look like he had been coached. I wasn’t thinking about the NBA,” said Jerry DeBusk, Thompson’s head coach at Rancho Santa Margarita Catholic High. “Neither one showed those kinds of skills or games at that time. But I knew for sure that these guys are going to play at the next level. There’s no question about it.”
Thompson still elicited some question marks, though. Though he accepted a scholarship with the Cougars, DeBusk said former Washington State coach Tony Bennett repeatedly asked him about Thompson’s defense. Pera, who was on Arizona State’s coaching staff, still harbors regrets the Sun Devils did not offer Thompson a scholarship after scouting him.
“The only thing that makes me feel decent at all is I’m not the only guy who missed him,” Pera said. “He’s phenomenal. I remember him in high school and I remember us trying to figure out if he is good enough. Then he got to college and you had to play against him. You were like, ‘Wow, how can I possibly have missed on this?’”
Those regretful feelings surfaced during Thompson’s freshman season when he led the Cougars to an overtime victory over the No. 14 Sun Devils on Feb. 28, 2009. Then, Thompson posted a team-leading 17 points, seven rebounds and helped limit Harden to 13 points, a steep drop from his season average (22.5 points per game). Following Harden’s sophomore season at Arizona State, the Oklahoma City Thunder selected him third overall in the 2009 NBA draft. Nearly nine years later, Thompson deadpanned that Harden has “gotten much better” since playing for Artesia.
“I knew James would be great. But I didn’t know he would be MVP one day,” Thompson said. “I only knew he would be an All-Star and a good NBA player. So it’s cool to see his ascension.”
Embracing the matchup
Warriors forward Kevin Durant saw Harden’s ascension up close through his first three seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder (2009-2012). Durant became continuously encouraged with Harden’s work ethic and playmaking. Once Harden won the NBA’s sixth man of the year award in 2011-12, that convinced Durant that Harden could both fully flourish and accept a bench role if asked. But even if Durant had confidence Harden’s game would grow once the Thunder traded him to the Houston Rockets, even Durant openly wondered a few things.
“I didn’t know how James could take being the No. 1 guy now. He hadn’t been that guy yet in the league,” Durant said. “I was tripping thinking that he had been that his whole life and had accepted that. He knew exactly what he needed to do. He figured that out quickly. He started proving it.”
Thompson also started proving that he offered more than just sinking shots with stunning accuracy. In the 2013 Western Conference semifinals against San Antonio, Thompson limited Spurs guard Tony Parker in Game 4 (6-of-17 shooting) and Game 6 (3 of 16), performances that convinced Durant that Thompson would become one of the NBA’s best two-way players. Unlike Harden, though, Thompson remains happy with playing a complementary role.
That has set up an intriguing head-to-head matchup.
“They go about it very differently. James is going to dribble and Klay is going to shoot,” Kerr said. “They’re both awesome at what they do. It’s fun to watch the contrasting styles.”
In 11 playoff matchups, Harden has averaged 28.3 points on 45.7 percent shooting, while Thompson has posted 21.3 points on a 43.8 percent clip. In 23 regular season games, a different theme has emerged. Harden has averaged 24.7 points albeit on 40.5 percent shooting, while Thompson has scored 16.7 points on a 41.8 percent mark.
“I have to keep it that way,” Thompson said of Harden’s low shooting numbers.
How does Thompson do it? He did not have many opportunities in the Warriors’ Game 1 win over Houston. Then, Stephen Curry and Kevon Looney were often matched up in isolation on Harden. But in other games, the Warriors have praised Thompson for not reaching on Harden and for not falling for his pump fakes.
“He’s competitive. That’s all you can ask for,” Harden said of Thompson. “He’s competitive. He’s going to keep going.”
Mutual respect
That competitiveness played out when Thompson and Harden played in the 2015 offseason with the Drew League, a summer pro-am league based in South Central Los Angeles that features homegrown NBA talent as well as overseas, college and high school players.
Three years later, Thompson still found it “annoying” and added it “sucks” that Harden’s team won. Then, Drew League commissioner Dino Smiley recalled that Thompson opened the game sinking his first three shots deep from 3-point range. Then, Smiley recalled, Harden countered with a series of drop-back 3-pointers after performing his signature Euro step.
“James wasn’t talking trash to Klay. Klay is quiet. But James would let everyone else know,” Smiley said, laughing. “He put his three sign and would drag it along the floor.”
Team accounts say Thompson’s stoicism has played out in the games that count. James’ gloating has vanished, too.
“They go hard at each other, but they both play within themselves,” Durant said. “There’s no unnecessary trash talk that goes on. They both talk with their games. That’s what people can appreciate. They might not be out there hugging, dapping up and giving high fives and all that stuff. But they’re not out there cussing each other out and elbowing and grabbing.”
After all, Thompson and Harden have admired each other’s games for over a decade. Thompson then developed deeper respect for Harden’s work ethic when they played together on the U.S. Olympic team in the 2016 Rio Games.
“You don’t get handles and scoring ability like that just by waking up in the morning. You have to put the work in first hand,” Thompson said. “It’s just time, effort and loving your job. If you do those three things, you’ll be successful in this league. I promise you that.”
Thompson has done those three things as well, sparking an intriguing head-to-head matchup that has transcended all levels of basketball.
“We were always growing to get better,” Harden said. “It was always a competitive battle.”
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