How Warriors rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis unlocked a surprising new side of Klay Thompson

Golden State Warriors rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis and veteran Klay Thompson make for a fascinating pairing.

Now coming off the bench for the first time since his rookie campaign in 2011, Thompson is spending more minutes with Golden State’s second unit. While here, he has created an immediate bond with Jackson-Davis, who was the second-to-last pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.

Playing alongside Thompson, the former Indiana standout just had one of the best games of his professional career. He had 17 points against the Lakers on Feb. 22, which was just two points shy of his personal best in the NBA.

11 lined it up.
32 knocked it down.

@NBAonTNT pic.twitter.com/oCiHLgF6yk

— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) February 23, 2024

While he has spent most of his career known as a sharpshooter, it’s his passing that was on display against Los Angeles.

Thompson isn’t known for his playmaking but recorded three assists to Jackson-Davis in just four and a half minutes, per Anthony Slater. Here is more (via The Athletic):

“He isn’t pass-first and the Warriors have never asked him to be. But his gravity does generate openings for his teammates and, over the years, he’s found some synergy with centers who can finish above the rim.”

Finishing above the rim is not a problem for Jackson-Davis. Among all collegiate prospects drafted last season, he finished with the most dunks (74) by a significant margin.

Klay Thompson was looking to get Trayce Jackson-Davis the ball tonight, and assisted him on 3 buckets in a 4 minute span.

Marcus Thompson: "How much are you paying Klay?" pic.twitter.com/7CVxGzhDmt

— KNBR (@KNBR) February 23, 2024

Jackson-Davis knows that he is a natural fit next to Thompson, stating:

“I think Klay likes passing me the ball. Before the game, he actually came up to me. He said come get me on pindowns [and] ball screens in transition. You’re either going to get a dunk or I’m going to get a shot.”

To use some numbers: Thompson has now recorded 18 assists to Jackson-Davis in the 242 minutes they have shared the floor this season. That average is 2.7 assists to just Jackson-Davis per 36 minutes. For comparison, his NBA career average to all his teammates combined is 2.6 assists per 36.

Thompson now has more assists to the rookie than to any other player on the roster except for Kevon Looney (who he has assisted just once more at 19 times). Thompson has shared the court with eight players for more minutes than he has with Jackson-Davis.

According to Curry, who has now spent more than a decade as Thompson’s teammate, the veteran “had fun” with his playmaking prowess.

Kerr details why Klay and TJD play well together, and how TJD will continue to flourish once CP3 returns pic.twitter.com/5ZyOv9I1cu

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) February 23, 2024

Warriors coach Steve Kerr provided his thoughts as well (via NBC Sports Bay Area):

“Trayce is such a good finisher … When Klay comes off inbounds, people are scared. They’re scared. They’re going to put two on the ball. He just knows that Trayce, after he sets a screen, if he slips and gets to the rim, he knows Trayce is going to finish. They’ve just had a great connection all year on that action.”

Digging deeper, 30.5 percent of Thompson’s passes to Jackson-Davis have led directly to an assist. That rate is quite a bit higher from Thompson to any other teammate.

The rookie big is now shooting an absurd 81.8 percent at the rim when he shares the floor with Thompson, per PBPStats. For comparison, he is 68.4 percent at the rim when the veteran is not on the court. Thompson’s track record as a shooter plays a large reason why.

With the gravity and spacing that Thompson provides, Jackson-Davis has gotten some wide-open looks when cutting to the basket. Together, it is also helping to unlock some offensive potential from Golden State’s bench.

They’ll need productivity from the non-Curry lineups if this team hopes to make any noise in the postseason and the pairing of Thompson and Jackson-Davis might provide exactly that.

In the process, his playmaking could also extend Thompson’s NBA career.