"Bonafide No. 2 for this team": Draymond Green snubs Klay Thompson as Steph Curry's 'Robin'

Klay Thompson's drop in the Golden State Warriors' pecking order is undeniable, and Draymond Green is well aware. While Steph Curry remains the #1 option, Thompson's regression two years out from returning after multiple season-ending surgeries (ACL and Achilles) is more visible than ever.

The Warriors won the 2022 championship with Andrew Wiggins as Curry's "Robin." Last season was a mix of Jordan Poole, Andrew Wiggins and Thompson contending for that role.

Poole got traded, leaving the competition between Wiggins and Thompson in 2023-24. But a third contender emerged after the veteran duo's repeated struggles.

Draymond Green named Jonathan Kuminga the "bonafide No. 2" while reflecting on the Warriors' resurgent 8-3 run since his own comeback from a 12-game suspension on Monday night.

"Honestly getting suspended helped," Draymond said (via Warriors' beat reporter Anthony Slater). "Jonathan Kuminga has taken off. Bonafide No. 2 for this team… Our offense don’t look the same like it used to… Not that I wanted to get suspended or that it was good.”

While Klay Thompson has averaged the second most points this season, it hasn't come at an efficient rate. He's also lost his spot in the closing lineup in recent weeks. Thompson is tallying 17.1 points per game on 42/37/91 splits. Jonathan Kuminga is a close third with 15.6 ppg on 53/32/73 splits.

In 24 games as a starter, Kuminga's averaging the same points as Thompson but more efficiently, shooting 54.4% on just 11.9 field goal attempts. The Warriors are 14-10 when Kuminga starts and 23-25 in games played by Thompson.

The uptick in Kuminga's minutes and consistency in his role has been critical to his rise as the No. 2 option on the Golden State Warriors.

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Draymond Green backs Klay Thompson after up-and-down season

Klay Thompson and slow starts have been a pattern for most of his career. After a subpar start to the 2023-24 season, the expectation was that Thompson would bounce back and play close to his potential at some point. There have been glimpses of it, but that's just it.

Thompson's struggles to remain consistent have continued well beyond halfway through the season.

However, Draymond Green and the Golden State Warriors have his back. After Thompson went off for a team-high 26 points in 29 minutes on 57.9% shooting, Draymond reflected on his teammate's inconsistency, saying (via Warriors on NBCS):

"He's [Klay] resilient, always has been. I don't worry about Klay because he's tough ... Just gotta be supportive ... That's what our job is to make sure to support him at all times."

Klay Thompson has seemingly come to terms with his new role on the team. He's no longer a bonafide No. 2 because of his gradual decline, which he may have found difficult to accept for most of the season. But that seems to be changing over the last few weeks.

As he heads towards free agency this summer, Thompson expressed his desire to extend his stay with the Warriors and accept a lesser role if that's what it takes.

“I’ll be 35 next year. At 35, coming off the ACL and an Achilles [tear] and still have the ability to be a really good player," Thompson told The Ringer.

"Maybe not the guy who scored 60 in three quarters and scored an NBA record 37 points in a quarter, but still a great threat out there."

Klay Thompson remains a distraction for opposing defenses. He may not have been as red-hot during his pre-injury seasons, but teams respect his shooting ability, providing the versatility needed for the Dubs' offense to succeed.