DALLAS (AP) — Klay Thompson made his preseason debut with the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night, scoring 10 points in his new team’s 107-102 loss to the Utah Jazz.
It was Thompson’s first NBA game in anything other than a Golden State uniform. He played 11 seasons with the Warriors, not counting the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons that he missed with injuries, and helped Golden State win four NBA championships.
He enters this season with 2,481 3-pointers, the sixth-most in NBA history. And all three of his baskets in his exhibition debut with Dallas were from beyond the arc.
Thompson was 3-for-5 on 3-pointers, 3-of-9 overall from the field, in 18 minutes.
His debut was one of several noteworthy ones that have — or soon will — happen during this NBA preseason. Among the others: Karl-Anthony Towns playing for New York twice already and Chris Paul playing for San Antonio for the first time on Wednesday. And on Friday, Paul George is expected to make his exhibition debut for Philadelphia.
Thompson agreed to join the Mavericks this summer, a transaction that happened as part of the first six-team trade in NBA history. It also involved Golden State, Minnesota, Charlotte, Philadelphia and Denver.
The Warriors have already announced that they will retire Thompson’s No. 11 jersey. Thompson is wearing No. 31 for Dallas; the No. 11 jersey for the Mavericks is worn by Kyrie Irving.
