De’Anthony Melton is not trying to be Klay Thompson, but the Warriors are getting a pretty good imitation in one key spot.
That matters now more than ever with Thompson set to come back to the Bay Area on Thursday as a member of the Miami Heat. The old Splash Brother’s return comes after two uneven seasons in Dallas, and the player who was brought in to help fill that void has started the season looking awfully comfortable from deep.
Melton’s path to this point has been bumpy. When he signed with Golden State in the autumn of 2024, he was stepping into the pressure cooker of becoming Steph Curry’s long-term backcourt partner after Thompson’s departure.
Then his season was cut short after only six games by a torn ACL. Even in that brief stretch, he got a taste of the expectations tied to the job.
“The lingering effect of him? Yeah, they definitely had a great run,” Melton said Wednesday of Thompson’s impact, before adding, “But by the time I was getting here, it was kind of toward the end of it.”
Now, more than two years later, Melton is back and firing like one of the league’s better shooters. Through eight games, he’s hitting 46% of his 3-pointers on 5.1 attempts per game, a huge jump from the 29.4% he posted last season. That rough year came with a couple of injured thumbs, and Warriors coach Steve Kerr said wear and tear started to catch up to Melton, 28, as the season wore on.
The cleaner looks have helped, too. Last season, with injuries piling up around the Warriors, Melton was asked to do more on the ball and took 2.2 pull-up jumpers per game, according to NBA tracking data. This season, that number has dropped to 1.3 per game.
The shot profile tells the story. Of his 41 3-point attempts, almost all have come off the catch, and only nine have come after at least one dribble. Those catch-and-shoot looks have also been mostly open, with the NBA defining that as a defender being at least four feet away when the shot goes up.
Even if the percentage cools off, the early evidence points to last season being the outlier for a career 36% 3-point shooter.
“I had to really just slow down and understand my shot and understand what works for me,” Melton said after making two late 3-pointers against the Clippers on Sunday. “Sometimes I feel like I was rushing my jumper just to get it up. But now, I feel like I’m just being calm and shooting it, and whatever happens, happens.”
Thompson, for his part, is still rolling. He’s making 42.5% of his 3s through eight games with the Heat, and the 36-year-old pure shooter delivered the game-winning 3-pointer against the Clippers in Inglewood on Wednesday. That gave him 30 points on the night and extended his streak to three straight games with at least 19 points.
Melton hasn’t put up those kinds of numbers, but he has become a steady presence again. Last season, he played 49 games after a year of rehab, though he still had restrictions that kept him out of most back-to-backs and limited his minutes.
He re-signed with the Warriors on a two-year deal, with the second season a player option, and came back to full health. This year, the limits are gone. He’s appeared in all eight games, and the burst is back, shown by a strong block against the Clippers when he soared up to reject Cam Christie.
Golden State has also leaned on him defensively. As one of the team’s few athletic guards, Melton has taken on tough assignments while bringing energy and shotmaking off the bench.
He may never be headed for the Hall of Fame the way Thompson is, but right now Melton is giving the Warriors exactly what they need.
“Everybody’s got their own journey in life,” Melton said when asked about comparisons between himself and Thompson. “Me and Klay are different.”
In Other News...
Warriors Just Got A Real Kristaps Porzingis Pathway
Kristaps Porzingis has suddenly become a name worth tracking for teams looking to reshape their roster, and the Warriors are right in the middle of that conversation. Reports suggest he may be open to a buyout in the $3-4 million range, which could make it easier for Golden State to line up a trade partner and create a workable path if the front office decides to pursue it.
For the Warriors, the appeal goes beyond just adding a big name to the mix. A deal involving Porzingis could also leave them with a trade exception, giving the team more flexibility in future roster moves. Sources expect something to happen before December 15, so this is one of those situations that could move quickly once the right framework comes together. [Read more 🡒]
Klay Thompson Just Framed His Post-Warriors Chapter Very Differently
Klay Thompsons first night back in Golden State as a member of the Miami Heat came with the kind of mixed bag that has followed him into this new chapter. He scored 11 points in 23 minutes after putting up 30 against the Clippers the night before, and the return to Chase Center offered another reminder of how different his basketball life looks now. More than the box score, though, Thompson made clear that the change of scenery has mattered to him, saying he is happier in Miami and closer to family than he was during his time in Dallas.
For Warriors fans, the broader picture is a little jarring: Thompson is no longer carrying the same spotlight, Andrew Wiggins is working through a reduced role with the Heat, and Tim Hardaway Jr. has seen his minutes shrink in favor of rookie Ryan Conwell. It all adds another layer to a night that was already about nostalgia and transition, with Thompsons post-Warriors path looking less like a farewell tour and more like a reset he seems comfortable embracing. [Read more 🡒]
Warriors Rumor Could Reshape Steph Currys Final Title Chase
The Warriors are again being mentioned in the kind of star-hunting conversation that follows them whenever the roster looks a little thin and the championship window feels a little more delicate. With injuries taking a toll on key players, Golden State is said to be viewing itself as a possible landing spot for major names next summer, and that has pushed Nikola Jokic into the center of the speculation.
Jokics situation in Denver is worth watching because extension talks have been delayed, leaving open the possibility of free agency down the line. For the Warriors, the appeal is obvious: a player of that caliber would instantly change the ceiling around Stephen Curry and give the franchise a very different path back into title contention, even as the front office weighs how realistic it is to land a star of that magnitude. [Read more 🡒]