Golden State Warriors player Klay Thompson clinched the NBA’s free-throw percentage title for the 2023-24 season, edging past his teammate and fellow star, Stephen Curry. This achievement came to light on Sunday, and Steph Curry did not see that coming.
Heading into the final game, Curry was on track to secure his fifth league-leading spot in free throw percentage. He was slightly ahead of Bogdan Bogdanovic and Damian Lillard in this stat. Surprisingly, Klay Thompson wasn’t even in the leaderboards initially as he did not meet the eligibility criteria.
However, everything changed when Thompson made all five free throws in that crucial game, bringing his total to 127 successful shots from the line for the season.
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“I wanna see if they rewrite the rules,” Curry said in the post-game interview. “I don’t know what 125 free throws, what that qualification is, but he got it done.”
“I had no clue,” Curry said when asked about Thompson taking over him in the stat. “I knew I was up there, percentage-wise, pretty much all year. I think Dame [Lillard] was up there, too. But I had no clue Klay was ineligible until the last game, and he made all five. So, shout out to him.”
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When asked if he found solace in knowing that at least Klay kept the award in the team, Curry was quick to respond. “No, I hate losing. Absolutely not,” he said evoking laughter during the press-conference.
Klay Thompson unknowingly got the free-throw crown from Stephen Curry
Klay Thompson showed his coolness under pressure by nailing some crucial free throws. Stephen Curry revealed that Thompson didn’t know he needed to make three free throws to qualify for the free-throw percentage leaderboard.
“Klay had no idea,” Curry shared. “He was like, ‘Oh, that’s nice,’ and that was pretty much the extent of our conversation.”
Curry also mentioned that Thompson was pleasantly surprised to learn about the annual award given to the free-throw percentage leader.
“He didn’t even know there was a trophy for that,” Curry added. “So, receiving the trophy was a delightful surprise for him.”
So, without even realizing it, Thompson ended up clinching the free-throw title on the last day of the season.
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