Klay Thompson's powerful Mavericks demand will fuel an NBA Finals push

The Dallas Mavericks' Media Day went as smoothly as could be expected yesterday, with players all feeling healthy (besides Kyrie Irving) and ready in preparation for the 82-game season. The Mavericks will be in Vancouver, British Columbia, for training camp, which should be a nice detox from the criticism back home that has flooded the organization ever since the Luka Doncic trade.

However, they could have some extra energy heading into the season, as Klay Thompson has requested videos be played from the 2011 Mavericks' championship season at the practice facility in an effort to help boost team habits and motivation. Thompson has been taking his leadership role seriously with the Mavericks recently, helping host a team mini-camp as well as being very vocal about helping guide some of the younger players on the team.

For Mavericks fans, Thompson asking the team to listen to videos from the 2011 season is more than fans could've even asked for from him, as Mavericks fans hold that season near and dear to their hearts, and this shows Thompson wants to win a championship in Dallas. P.J. Washington was the one who revealed Thompson had requested to do this yesterday at media day, so it's clear Thompson has the voice of the locker room, and other Mavericks players are on the same wavelength as him.

Thompson having 2011 videos being played will bring winning energy

Obviously, it's not like Thompson playing videos from the 2011 Mavericks season will directly correlate to winning playoff series, but this could help invigorate some competitive fire inside some of the players' minds, especially since they can see their head coach, Jason Kidd, in a different setting as a player.

The Mavericks undoubtedly manufactured a winning culture leading up to the Doncic trade, but with so many new faces involved, it's important to try to build up the culture of what it means to be a Maverick, and Thompson paying homage to the 2011 team is one of the best ways to do this.

While Kidd said there weren't two timelines at media day, the Mavericks have a lot of younger players who may lack knowledge of the team's history, so it's great to see a veteran like Thompson helping fill them in. Even some of Dallas' veterans haven't necessarily been with the team for that long, so establishing a culture, identity, and some semblance of continuity will all be important markers for the Mavericks to work on this season.

Individually speaking, Thompson is clearly taking on a greater leadership role ever since Doncic's departure, and it's extremely needed given his championship experience and age, so it's great to see him trying to establish Mavericks culture as well, as he could very easily just harp on his own championship experience when talking to some of the younger players.

Thompson has voiced his love for former Mavericks marksman Jason Terry, hence why he sports No. 31 for Dallas, and it's without a doubt that Thompson's vocal leadership and role could very well mirror Terry's from the championship season when it comes to this upcoming season.