It’s mid-November, so NBA games aren’t expected to feel like Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals just yet. But Klay Thompson’s return to Chase Center as a card-carrying member of the Dallas Mavericks was always going to be imbued with an extra dose of emotive weight.
Given the somewhat raw and abrupt conclusion to a partnership spanning over a decade (in professional athlete years, that is roughly a century), the state of things regarding the second Splash Brother remained somewhat uncertain. Adding to that uncertainty was a last-minute change of plans.