Epic Klay Thompson-Steph Curry reunion would rescue major NBA downfall

The All-Star Weekend has needed a jolt of electricity for quite some time, but the remedy might be in Dallas. This year’s 3-Point Contest champion, Damian Lillard, shared a recent DM he had with Klay Thompson’s old running mate, Steph Curry. And all signs point to a Thompson-Curry reunion in a star-studded 3-Point Contest bonanza next year in Phoenix, as Curry believes that he could get Thompson to participate.

The NBA experimented with a different NBA All-Star game format that saw promising results. Unfortunately, the Slam Dunk Contest was underwhelming. But once again, the NBA 3-Point Contest delivered the goods like Amazon Prime.

Lillard, who has been out all season recovering from a torn left Achilles tendon, pulled off Mission Impossible without Tom Cruise’s assistance to win his third NBA All-Star Three-Point Contest (2023, 2024, 2026), fresh off injured reserve. He won it in thrilling fashion by defeating the Phoenix Suns’ sharpshooter with a score of 29 points to Devin Booker's 27 points in the final round.

The timing seems right for a Klay Thompson-Steph Curry reunion

But a Klay Thompson-Steph Curry reunion in next year’s contest would raise the ante to its highest zenith. We’re talking Clash of the Titans. Curry is widely heralded as the greatest shooter of all time. He’s won the 3-Point Contest twice (2015, 2021).

But it was Curry’s former running mate and current Maverick, Thompson, who defeated him in the final round of the 2016 3-Point Contest. Thompson scored 27 points to Curry's 23 points in the contest finals to capture his first and only 3-Point Contest title and put his own stamp in the history books.

Thompson would love the opportunity to stake his claim yet again as one of the greatest shooters ever to touch a basketball, and remind fair-weather fans that he’s still a master of the sacred shooting arts. Seeing his former teammate Curry and former rivals like Lillard and Booker lined up against him would surely get the competitive juices flowing.

Also, a standstill shooting contest might benefit Thompson the most, since multiple injuries to his lower extremities have robbed him of some of the mobility that made him such a nightmare for opposing defenses over the past decade. Thompson can still be lethal in a standstill shooting scenario.

Phoenix will host the NBA All-Star festivities next season, and Booker will most certainly be seeking 3-Point Contest retribution in front of his home crowd. But can you really call yourself the best shooter of your generation if you don’t defeat them on the grandest stage?

Having these four elite shooters together on the same stage seems like destiny.

Lillard knows this. He has a keen sense of legacy and how he wants to be remembered among the pantheon of his peers and in NBA lore. I have an inkling Thompson feels the same way.

This is why Lillard is lobbying for Klay Thompson and Steph Curry to reunite like Voltron once again to form the best shooting duo the game has ever seen. Even if they are competing against each other.

Curry knows how integral Thompson was to Golden State’s dynasty run, and he’s chasing that feeling of sharing the court with his former running mate in All-Star fashion one last time.

Thompson, on the other hand, is locked in a fierce battle with Father Time. He’s giving up ground, but he isn’t ready to concede defeat just yet.

Next year’s 3-Point Contest could conceivably be his last chance to show the Dallas faithful what made him great all those years in Golden State, and what could have been if Luka Doncic hadn’t been kicked out of his kingdom in his prime and if Anthony Davis hadn’t been…well…Anthony Davis.

Things could have turned out so differently. But the All-Star Weekend is a celebration of the game and a showcase of the best that the NBA has to offer its fans.

The NBA 3-Point Contest has long been the most consistent staple of All-Star Weekend. But if we get to see Klay Thompson versus Steph Curry one more time, I’m sure that would warm every NBA fan’s heart. Especially here in Dallas.