Klay Thompson had the good fortune of playing with one of the best players in NBA history during his decade-plus at Golden State.
Now, he’s doubly blessed to play with Luka Dončić, who may someday pass Steph Curry in the conversation about the NBA’s greatest players ever.
And for Thompson, the season opener on Thursday was more of an eye-opening moment than he could have imagined.
“It was great to be out there with Luka,” he said. “What an incredible talent. And it doesn’t make any sense because what we’re taught growing up as far as being the best basketball player (goes) is you got to jump the highest, you got to run the fastest.
“Somehow, Luka defies that. He plays at his own speed and manipulates a game as good as I’ve ever seen anyone do it. It’s great to be a recipient of that and get great looks.”
This comment came after Dončić had 28 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in the 120-109 victory over San Antonio. It was almost overshadowed by Thompson’s 22 points that included 6-of-10 three-point shooting – precisely the kind of floor-stretching long-range accuracy for which the Mavericks acquired him.
“He was great, knocking in a lot of shots and he was moving out there, playing great defense, too,” Dončić said. “I’m just glad we got him. It’s easy to play with a guy like that. It makes my life and Kai’s easier.”
It was so easy for Kyrie Irving that he didn’t even have to get off the bench in the fourth quarter as the Mavericks had a safe cushion throughout the final 12 minutes.
One of the highlights of the night came when Dončić found Thompson near the top of the three-point arc. The 6-6 Thompson was so alone that he had time to take a quick dribble – a “crab dribble,” as he called it – and calmly buried a three-pointer.
What was Dončić thinking during that play when he saw Thompson with nobody in the same zip code as him?
“I’m thinking it’s going in,” he said. “He had so much time he had to take one dribble. Playing with him makes my life easier.”
Thompson said gathering himself with a dribble is something he does quite often when the defense is nowhere to be found. And by the way, Luka already had turned to head back down to the defensive end of the court.
“When you’re getting ready to shoot the ball and you’re that wide-open, sometimes you overthink it,” he said. “So it’s nice to take a crab dribble and that gives you a lot of rhythm.
“I hear Luka was running down the floor. I’m happy I made it and made him not look stupid.”
Luka, who said he played “terrible,” actually wasn’t bad at all. He only made 9-of-25 shots, but he was 4-of-11 from three-point land. And he was the ringleader of excellent ball movement that led to 27 assists.
So, was it really easier with Thompson out there on the perimeter?
“Yeah, for sure,” Dončić said. “It’s a lot of space for me and Kai to create. Not just for Klay, but everybody. You can’t leave Klay open. You can’t leave Kai open, so it’s going to be tough for the defense.
“But we just got to go game by game, read the game.”
True enough, every game will be different. Hopefully, though, the results will be the same more often than not.
Here’s a few other takeaways from the season opener.
When it comes to triples, we’ll still take Klay over Wemby: San Antonio may well have the best player in the league in a couple years with Victor Wembanyama. But on Thursday, in the first game of his second season, the reigning 7-4 rookie of the year missed his first six three-pointers and finished 1-of-8 from beyond the arc. The Mavericks limited him to 5-of-18 shooting overall. Wembanyama finished with 17 points and nine rebounds. His four turnovers matched Luka’s. “He’s the future of this league, obviously,” Thompson said. “He does things that no player can really do. He had some good looks.” Interestingly, Thompson had just two fewer rebounds (seven) than Wembanyama. “I thought he did an incredible job with that,” coach Jason Kidd said. “The offensive rebounds (three), with the way we were shooting in the first half, there were plenty of offensive rebounds to get.” It helped the Mavericks survive just fine when the three-guard lineup combined for 20 rebounds.
Effective minutes from Hardy, Kleber: When the Mavericks were struggling in the first half, unable to put enough points on the board to keep pace with the Spurs, Jaden Hardy came through with three three-pointers. Later, in the second half, when Daniel Gafford picked up his fifth foul, Maxi Kleber helped finish off the Spurs with 15 quality minutes. “I thought 
Hardy was a big plus for us in that first half,” Kidd said. “He got everybody settled down. We couldn’t see a three go in the hoop until he started to make some for us. I thought that became contagious.” Hardy finished with 11 points, Kleber with three points, four rebounds and a block.
Final thought: The Mavericks flashed strong ability to rebound in this game. They ended up getting outdone on the boards 52-50, but hanging that close against a Spurs team that has Wembanyama is a good sign. Seeing Dereck Lively II come off the bench with a game-best 11 rebounds was huge. While he and Daniel Gafford will be involved in the offense, their rebounding, defense and shot-blocking are bigger priorities.
X: @ESefko
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