Grading Klay Thompson's concern-squashing Dallas Mavericks debut

The 115-day wait finally ended on Thursday night.

The Dallas Mavericks signed Klay Thompson on July 1, and fans finally got to see what he looked like in a regular season game at the American Airlines Center against the San Antonio Spurs.

There was tons of excitement heading into this game from fans, and No. 31 Mavs jerseys flooded the concourse of the AAC. Thompson was locked in from the minute he stepped onto the court for his pregame workout just over an hour before tipoff until the final buzzer, and his debut was extremely promising. Dallas was able to secure a 120-109 win over the Spurs, and Thompson was the star of the show.

Thompson wipes away any and all concerns in huge debut performance

Thompson started the game off with some stellar defense on Victor Wembanyama as he collected two steals within the first couple of minutes, and then his offensive game started to get going. He hit his first two shot attempts, one mid-range pull-up jumper from the right side of the floor, and one corner three, and everything started to come together for him after that.

He was crashing the glass hard, giving good effort on defense, and playing his role, and the second half is when Thompson started to pour it on.

He drilled two threes early in the third quarter to help get the Mavs offense rolling, and these shots gave Dallas the momentum they needed to finish strong and secure a win for the home fans. Thompson's quick release and calmness when letting it rip off the catch were promising, and his synergy with Luka Doncic is already looking great.

Some early murmurs were coming out of Mavs practice that Doncic and Thompson were playing great together in closed practices before the season even began. These rumblings were proved to be true in this game, as Doncic was always looking to get his new teammate some open shots. Doncic's on-ball gravity is going to make life so much easier for Thompson moving forward, and they brought the best out of each other after one game.

Dallas' spacing with Thompson on the floor was excellent, and he couldn't have been more open on several of his threes.

While Thompson's defense and 3-point shooting are going to be the biggest talking points coming out of this game, his passing can't go unnoticed. Although he only finished with one assist, his willingness as a passer was clear. He made a good read when coming off a screen in the second half to find Irving for an open three, and his overall feel on the offensive end was evident all game long.

If Thompson can continue to be a positive on the defensive end and a consistent sharpshooter on offense, the Mavs have found their third star for the next few years. His effort on the defensive end continued all night long, and he did a good job of making life hard on who he was guarding while anticipating where passes were going to go. Thompson ended the night with three steals and seven rebounds, and his performance in both of those areas were the under-the-radar stars of the show.

Thompson did all of the little things for Dallas against the Spurs, and he ended up finishing with 22 points, seven rebounds, one assist, and three steals while shooting 7-13 from the field and 6-10 from downtown. You couldn't have asked for a much better debut from him when looking at all aspects of his game, and the Mavs may have found the perfect player to complement Doncic and Irving moving forward.

Thompson gets an A+ for his performance in Thursday's win over San Antonio, and he was one of the biggest differences for Dallas and laid the foundation for a great rest of his season..