SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Just minutes after the final buzzer sounded, and with the score still appearing on the big screen, a poignant graphic appeared for all to see: side-by-side photos of Stephen Curry dribbling with the left hand. and Klay Thompson in almost the same pose but now wearing a blue Mavericks jersey.

The Golden State Warriors had just wrapped up their season-opening homestand and the game against Dallas was next at the Chase Center, with all fans on hand to receive a captain’s cap in honor of Thompson’s tradition of go boating to games like “Captain Klay.”

On Tuesday night, Thompson returns to face the Warriors for the first time since join the Mavericks in July with a three-year, $50 million contract after 11 seasons and four championships with Golden State.

“To be honest, I don’t think I’ll really know until I get there,” Thompson said when asked about his reaction to the meeting. “It would be nice to see all the people I worked with, that’s for sure, especially the training staff because we had some… we got to know each other very well during those rehab periods, very well.”

The veteran guard missed more than two and a half years (all 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons) recovering from surgeries on his left knee and right Achilles tendon before returning in January 2022. He has called up injury recoveries consecutive. one of the hardest and most exhausting things I have ever endured.

Thompson, 34, insists he will be able to concentrate as if it were just another game on the schedule, even if it isn’t. He offered a farewell message to Bay Area fans when he joined the Mavericks four months ago and is still well-liked here.

“It won’t be that difficult, I’m a professional and I know what it takes to win in this league, so it won’t be very difficult,” he said. “I know how to turn the page and focus. That’s why I’ve been able to do what I’ve done for 12 healthy seasons, making it to 13. Very blessed.”

Questions from Day 1 of Warriors training camp focused heavily on Thompson’s departure and how the Warriors would move forward without Curry’s Splash Brother.

Everyone misses him.

The Warriors are planning a special “Salute to Captain Klay” ceremony before kickoff to honor Thompson’s contributions to the franchise over 11 years. The team said, “Fans are encouraged to arrive early, by land or sea, for a special pregame greeting to the franchise legend.”

“With Klay, it’s not the records or the championships or the clutch hits that stand out the most from the last 13 years; it’s the truly unique relationship he developed with the Bay Area and our fans,” said the president and CEO of Warriors operations Brandon Schneider said in a statement. . “He hugged Dub Nation and Dub Nation hugged him back. “Warriors fans have laughed, cried, applauded and celebrated alongside him, and it is only fitting that they have the opportunity to show him their love and greet him on his return to the Bay Area.”

Thompson plans to enjoy the moment and, of course, try to win.

“It’s all good though,” Thompson said. “I’m accepting it. “You can only do one thing so many times in your life.”

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AP Sports Writer Schuyler Dixon contributed to this story.

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