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Stephen Curry shimmyed, explained: Why Warriors star objected to Klay Thompson stealing his signature celebration

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Stephen Curry shimmyed, explained: Why Warriors star objected to Klay Thompson stealing his signature celebration

Tuesday night was an emotional night in San Francisco as Klay Thompson returned to Golden State for the first time since leaving the Warriors. As the match started, Thompson got a long ovation of fans, it ended with him facing Stephen Curry for the first time.

The Warriors came out on top, 120-117, thanks to a 37-point lead from Curry, including 12 straight points to end the game. Meanwhile, Curry gave Thompson a taste of what it’s like to play him as an opponent rather than a teammate, with the veteran providing his former teammate with some motivation throughout the match.

The Sporting News investigates how Curry spoiled Thompson’s return on Tuesday.

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Stephen Curry shimmy, explained

Thompson had a solid night — his 22 points are the most of his Mavericks career to date — but one basket in particular stood out, as Thompson mimicked Curry’s famous shimmy celebration after making a 3 in the second quarter.

That decision haunted Thompson, just like any opponent who gives Curry a little motivation.

Curry went on a personal 12-3 run against Dallas to end the game and shut down the Mavericks and his former teammates all by himself.

After the match, Curry explained that Thompson shouldn’t have been the one to turn him on, telling TNT’s Allie LaForce that “he knows better than that.”

MORE: How Warriors paid tribute to Klay Thompson upon his return

Stephen Curry and Draymond Green discuss Klay Thompson’s return

Curry still had nothing but love for his former teammate when he spoke to the media.

“That’s my husband, my friend, my brother-dog for 13 years,” Curry said. “You’re going to have a lot of back and forth. Some of it was competitive. Some of it was fun. And luckily we were all able to focus on the game and just hoop and compete.”

MORE: Why Klay Thompson left the Warriors for Mavericks in free agency

As the third member of this old trio, Draymond Green also weighed in on Thompson’s return, initially calling his shimmy “terrible” before praising his old teammate.

“That’s the competitive nature. You don’t win four championships together without that competitive fire,” Green said. “He has that, we have known that forever, we have that and he has known that forever. When you play against someone you have a good bond with it makes you want to beat him even more, it just raises the level of the competition.”

MORE: How Warriors built a new contender around Stephen Curry

Curry, Thompson and Green played together from 2012 to 2024, reaching six NBA Finals and winning four championships for Golden State.

Thompson’s time as a Warrior may be over, but it’s clear he will always be a special part of the organization.