Why Klay Thompson asked Stephen Curry to cancel speech

The Warriors went all out in celebrating Klay Thompson's homecoming on Tuesday. In the lead-up to the game, nearly 400 Warriors employees in "Captain Klay" hats greeted him at the tunnel. This was followed by an epic introduction and tribute video with thousands of fans at Chase Center waving their hats to salute him. 

Amazingly, the Warriors had another big event planned for Thompson's return to the Bay Area. It involved Stephen Curry taking center stage and expressing what it meant to share a locker room with his former Splash Brother for 11 years. 

However, Curry canceled the speech at the last minute due to a text message from none other than Thompson the previous night. 

"Klay Thompson did not want some warm, fuzzy experience going back to the Warriors," NBA insider Tim MacMahon reported on "NBA Today" on Wednesday. "... He texted Steph the night before and said, 'Hey, let's not do that speech' because he didn't want to cry. He did not want to get emotional."

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr originally confirmed the scrapped plans for the Curry speech ahead of Tuesday's game. Kerr revealed that Curry and Thompson concluded, following their conversation, that "no words [were] necessary" and that there was "going to be enough emotion already" in the arena.

The high-profile game ended up being a one-on-one battle between Curry and Thompson as both sharpshooters caught a heater in the second half. Ultimately, Curry got the better of his Splash Brother with an individual 10-0 run in the final 3:10 of the fourth quarter that turned a six-point Warriors deficit into a four-point lead. In many ways, Curry single-handedly spoiled Thompson's homecoming.

The next Curry vs. Thompson battle is slated for Feb. 12 when the Warriors travel to the Mavericks. Thompson will return to Golden State on Feb. 23 for their final matchup. Of course, there's always the chance of the Warriors and Mavericks meeting in the playoffs.