Klay Thompson is way better than people give him credit for. He is the best pure shooter to ever live and he doesn’t have to put the ball on the floor to dominate. I think he is very close to becoming a superstar and we haven’t even seen the best of him yet.

Klay Thompson is barely scratching the surface of his true potential. I firmly believe he would average over 30 points per game on his own team, possibly closer to 35. Klay is capable of anything — he once put up an NBA-record 37 points in a quarter in 2015 and also scored 60 points on 11 dribbles — those two feats alone show that he is criminally underrated. I think that if he had a significantly higher usage rate, then the world would truly understand how great he actually is. He posted the second lowest usage percentage of his seven-year career this past season at 17.9%. Thompson is just the third option on one of the greatest teams ever assembled and that is the unfortunate reason why he does not get the recognition he deserves.

I think he is more important to the Warriors success than Stephen Curry is. Thompson is an elite defender and is often regarded as the best two-way player in the NBA. Curry is an enormous liability defensively and can’t contribute close to as much as Klay can when his shot is not falling. I still think Curry is a slightly better overall player than Thompson, but that doesn’t mean he is more valuable to the Warriors. That being said, they will both have four championships if they win the title this season and they are both easily the two greatest shooters in NBA history.

One of the best things about Thompson is that he is virtually ego-less, he can play with anyone. He was willing to take less money than he is worth in order to win championships. He can play any role you want him to and lockdown the opposing team’s best player. He is the ideal teammate. Eventually, he will probably become a superstar, but for now he is just racking up the accolades and sharing the wealth.

One can only hope that he decides to leave Warriors as he will be an unrestricted free agent in July. It comes down to whether he wants more money or more rings, and in the past he chose rings. His unselfishness is a major part in keeping their dynasty afloat. As much as I hate the Warriors, I still think we need to appreciate Klay Thompson more.

Sean Blevins is a columnist. Contact him at [email protected].