Thompson’s salary turned into three new Warriors this summer — De’Anthony Melton, Kyle Anderson, and Buddy Hield. All three have been fantastic for the Dubs, with Hield, in particular, thriving in the off-the-bench role Thompson openly eschewed playing last year.

Mere minutes after the final buzzer sounded, and with the score still showing on the big screen, an emotion-stirring graphic went up for all to see: side-by-side photos of Stephen Curry dribbling left-handed and Klay Thompson in nearly the same pose but now wearing a blue Mavericks jersey.

After a five-game road trip, Golden State will return home to host the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday. The meeting is expected to be extra emotional, as the Warriors will face Klay Thompson for the first time since he joined the Mavericks.