Whatever you do, don’t ask Klay Thompson a hypothetical question. He signed with the defending Western Conference Champions, expecting to leave an aging Golden State Warriors team for greener pastures. Instead, a Luka Dončić-less Dallas Mavericks team was officially eliminated from the NBA playoffs contention on Friday, while ESPN caught the architect of the 2024-25 Mavs with one of the coldest camera shots imaginable. Klay Thompson seemed ready to give a reporter the cold shoulder when asked if he would take a do-over on his “Choose Your Own Adventure” offseason decision.
The question was: knowing what he knows now, would he still have chosen to come to Dallas this past offseason? “Don’t do this to me. Don’t do that to me. Don’t do that,” Klay Thompson replied. “That’s kind of a ridiculous question because I don’t own a time machine and don’t believe in going back or looking back. If I did that my whole career, I would not be where I’m at, and I wouldn’t have been able to persevere through two really hard injuries. So, I’m here in Dallas, and I enjoyed my time, and I’m looking forward to the future.”
Klay Thompson was asked if he would’ve made the same decision to join the Mavs last summer knowing what he knows now:
“Don’t do this to me. Don’t do that to me. Don’t do that. That’s kind of a ridiculous question because I don’t own a time machine & I don’t believe in going back…
— Mike Curtis (@MikeACurtis2) April 19, 2025
While it was a fair question, it was also somewhat absurd. It’s the kind of question you ask, fully aware it might not sit well. But that’s part of the job; hypotheticals can irritate players and fans, yet they hold value. After all, Thompson might have reconsidered if he had known Luka Dončić was about to be traded, Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis would both get injured, and the Mavericks would become the league’s punchline and punching bag. But as Klay Thompson put it, there’s no time machine.
Ultimately, he provided the expected response from a seasoned veteran who understands that the past cannot be altered. You make your decision, live with it, and move forward. Sure, there might be regrets, but there are no rewrites. So, why dwell on it if you can’t change it?
