Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

Warriors need Klay Thompson to continue his 4/20 excellence

By Sean Keane | Last updated 4/20/23

April 20 is an unofficial holiday for some Americans. Klay Thompson is one of them.

We don't know what Thompson's recreational habits are, but he became the first active NBA player to partner with a cannabis company in 2020. He was cited for marijuana possession when he was in college. Thompson also supported coach Steve Kerr's use of marijuana as a painkiller after his back surgery, and the Warriors all received cannabis products before their championship parade.

Whatever the reason, Thompson has been excellent in both his career playoff games that took place on April 20. He's shot a combined 22-36 from the field and 5-13 from three-point range and averaged 24 points with just one turnover per game. He's been the Warriors' leading scorer in both games, though he's only averaging two assists. Come on, Klay! Don't bogart the basketball!

It could be that Thompson, who counts "Big Smokey" as one of his nicknames, simply gets inspired by celebrating the birthday of his beloved bulldog, Rocco.

Why Rocco's birthday is on 4/20: "He was born in mid-April...to make things easier, I say the 20th" pic.twitter.com/k2He3UlpEv
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 20, 2022

Thompson is right: 4/20 is a very memorable date.

This year, it also commemorates the Warriors' biggest game of the season. They return home to the down 2-0 to the Sacramento Kings, the first such deficit Thompson has experience in eight previous playoff campaigns with Golden State. Sacramento's crowds helped lift the Kings to a big series lead, so the Warriors are hoping that at the Chase Center the joint will be jumping.

Thompson had five three-pointers in each of the first two games of the series, but the team struggled when he was on the floor without Steph Curry.

Warriors offensive RTG when Curry is:

on court — 114.6
off court — 91.7

Should Steph play more than 40 minutes? pic.twitter.com/cPu9HcxzrP
— PlayoffMuse (@playoffmuse_) April 18, 2023

The Warriors are going to be hungry for a win, and we're not talking about the munchies. In a physical series where both teams are taking lots of hits, Golden State needs Klay to rip it from the outside.