Dallas Basketball

Mavericks Newest Signee Disrespected In List of Third Options

One NBA writer isn't buying into the Klay Thompson hype.

Keenan Womack

Apr 16, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) sits on the bench during action against the Sacramento Kings in the fourth quarter during a play-in game of the 2024 NBA playoffs at the Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images
Apr 16, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) sits on the bench during action against the Sacramento Kings in the fourth quarter during a play-in game of the 2024 NBA playoffs at the Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images / Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images
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In the most recent installment of Yahoo Sports writer Ben Rohrbach's piece on the top players across the NBA, he focused on teams' third options, which he defines as the following: "a star, at least on a good team, [but one that sacrifices] some faction of his game for the greater good." While this definition could be extrapolated to mean several different things, the general framework within which Rohrbach is working is that the player contributes, but is not the leader or co-leader of the team.

The list spans over 30 different players, one for each NBA team. The top overall "third" option is an interesting one in Paul George, who could be argued as a possible second star on the Philadelphia 76ers behind Joel Embiid and alongside Tyrese Maxey. The next third option is Rudy Gobert, who Dallas Mavericks fans will probably remember best for his victimization at the hands of Luka Doncic in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals last season.

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Number three on the list is Doncic's former Dallas co-star Kristaps Porzingis, who played a role for the Celtics in their championship last year behind Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Fourth and fifth are Chet Holmgren (Oklahoma City) and Desmond Bane (Memphis), respectively, before the list begins to get into the rest of the third option.

Sixth is Cavaliers center Evan Mobley, seventh is new Kings acquisition DeMar DeRozan, and eighth is Knicks acquisition Mikal Bridges. So where is the new Mavericks signee Klay Thompson on the list? Well, one would have to scroll all the way down to 19th to find his name amongst players like Coby White (Chicago, 15th), Jalen Johnson (Atlanta, 16th), and Jalen Suggs (Orlando, 20th).

But even before these names, there are some questionable players listed, with former teammate of Thompson's Draymond Green at ninth overall for the Warriors. Fred VanVleet (Houston Rockets, 13th) is six spots ahead of one of the greatest spot-up shooters of all time in Thompson, who will be playing in a system tailor-made to his strengths.

While there are several players that could be argued over a 34-year-old Klay Thompson, most of which are mentioned on the list, 19th seems low for a player with his pedigree. It will be up to him to help change the narrative about his age when playing for the Mavericks this season.

READ MORE: Dallas Mavericks Prospect Makes Number Change

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Keenan Womack
KEENAN WOMACK

Keenan Womack is a sportswriter native to Dallas, Texas, who has spent the last 12 years in Austin, the home of his alma mater, the University of Texas. Keenan has covered sports for SB Nation, Bleacher Report, Rivals/Orangebloods, a host of his own sites and now, Fan Nation. Focusing on basketball, Keenan was on the beat for the Longhorns hoops team for the last two-and-a-half years before moving on to pursue other opportunities. He is married and lives with his wife close to the Moody Center, so they can continue to catch games together.

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