LOS ANGELES _ The answer was as predictable as Klay Thompson draining an open shot.
The question was whether he wants to stay with the Warriors when he becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2019.
Absolutely," Thompson told Bay Area News Group. "I've always said that. Playing for one team your whole career is definitely special. Only so many guys have done it in professional sports, so it'll be a goal of mine. Hopefully it all works out."
Thompson is so hopeful of making it all work that he said last fall, in an interview with The Athletic, he would consider a hometown-discount contract from the Warriors. Thompson respectfully declined to revisit that topic this week. But ever since the Warriors selected him No. 11 overall in the 2011 NBA draft, Thompson has selflessly looked at things through blue-and-gold-colored glasses
"It's so far away," Thompson said of his pending free agency. "Anything I can do to stay with the Warriors is first and foremost. God willing, it happens. If not, I don't even think about that."
Thompson's thought process captures what has made him such a coveted star on a Warriors team that has plenty of them with Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Draymond Green.
Thompson will make his fifth All-Star appearance in Sunday's NBA All-Star game in Los Angeles because of his consistency with his outside shooting, defense and team-first attitude. Thompson will participate in the NBA's 3-point contest on Saturday in what will mark his fourth appearance. And with those qualities serving as a key ingredient to Golden State's championship recipe, the Warriors want to reward Thompson.
"He's certainly shown his worth here," Warriors general manager Bob Myers said of Thompson. "It's pretty undeniable how important he is. There's not a lot of guys that can do what he does and be as humble and selfless as he is."
That raises one question: how has the 28-year-old Thompson stayed so grounded in his seventh NBA season amid increasing team success and personal glory?
"We've won a lot. That doesn't happen by being an individual," said Thompson, who has averaged 20.1 points this season, while shooting 49.6 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from 3-point range. "In the history of the NBA, all the greatest teams that ever played had great talent. It wasn't just one or two guys. It was a complete roster. That's what we have."
