Is ‘Game 6 Klay’ a myth? Taking a deep dive into Klay Thompson’s playoff career

Klay Thompson is one of the deadliest scorers in the entire NBA. His range is unlimited, and once he catches fire, he becomes unstoppable.

The Golden State Warriors star still holds the record for the most points in a single quarter with 37. It almost feels unreal that he is on the same team as Steph Curry. There is no doubt they are the most amazing shooting duo in the history of the league.

Even though they were clear favorites to beat the Boston Celtics in the 2022 NBA Finals, the Warriors have struggled in the series. Fortunately, they have a 3-2 lead and a chance to win another championship in Game 6.

As many NBA fans know, Klay Thompson is well known for his Game 6 performances. The Warriors are expecting a lot from him on Thursday night and are hoping he can deliver another "Game 6 Klay" performance.

The Game 6 Klay Thompson is amazing

Klay Thompson hasn't been really great so far in the 2022 NBA Finals. The sharpshooter has struggled to score, which is a big reason why the Warriors have lost two games in the series so far.

In five games, Thompson has averaged 18.0 points per game on 38.3 percent shooting from the field and 36.7 percent shooting from long range. While his scoring average isn't awful, his shooting percentages are flat-out horrible.

For his entire playoff career, Thompson has shot 44.2 percent from the field and 41.0 percent from beyond the arc. He can definitely do a much better job.

On Thursday night, the Warriors will play Game 6 against the Boston Celtics and will have a chance to close the series out in Boston. This will be a great opportunity for Thompson to put on a great show and give us another "Game 6 Klay" performance.

The five-time NBA All-Star has only played one Game 6 so far in the postseason. It was against the Memphis Grizzlies, which turned out to be the final game of the series.

Thompson scored 30 points. He shot 8-for-14 from long range, eliminating the Grizzlies and advancing to the Western Conference finals.

However, let's take a look at how Klay Thompson has performed in Game 6 throughout his entire career.

Klay Thompson has been very efficient in Game 6. [Image via Sportskeeda]

As you can see in the image above, Thompson has scored 20.7 points per game during his previous Game 6 performances. While this isn't as good as his Game 5 average of 22.1 points per game, his 3-point shooting was insane. He converted 49.5% of his long-range shots.

What makes "Game 6 Klay" so valuable is that the Warriors are 9-3 in Game 6 with him. Additionally, he has a +/- rating of +62 in these 12 games, which is great considering that most of them were against tough opponents.

On the other hand, Thompson's +/- rating is -22 in Game 5 performances. The Warriors are 14-7 in these games.

Best performances by 'Game 6 Klay'

Klay Thompson's most amazing Game 6 performance came against the OKC Thunder back in the 2016 Western Conference finals. The Warriors were down 3-1, but they ended up eliminating the Thunder.

In Game 6, Thompson scored 41 points while making 11 out of his 18 3-pointers. He was unstoppable, and the Warriors were up by 16 points with him on the floor.

The second-best performance in Game 6 was in 2018 against the Houston Rockets. Once again, Klay Thompson caught fire, shooting 9-for-14 from beyond the arc and leading the Warriors to a 29-point blowout victory.

Just one year later, the Warriors and the Rockets met again in the playoffs. The Rockets were once again unsuccessful when it came to stopping Thompson. He torched them for 27 points on 7-for-13 long-range shooting.

Jay-Z mentioned Game 6 Michael Jordan in his song. However, if Klay Thompson puts on another show on Thursday night, it won't be surprising if he becomes a new Game 6 icon!

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