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GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 22, 2017

Klay Thompson

Oakland, California

Q. I ask this with all due respect, are you aware of China Klay and is it the same thing as Klay?
KLAY THOMPSON: I'm very aware. I guess you'll have to find out in about eight days. But I didn't know it will go so viral when I was over there. I was just having a great time, but I forgot the Internet existed, so now I know.

Q. Curious as to your thoughts on how this team has evolved emotionally over the last few years going from kind of a plucky upstart to now obviously for the last two years a team with a target on their back?
KLAY THOMPSON: Look around you. There's a lot of cameras here. It wasn't like this my first three years. I think we each just had a table. I think you guys were able to come around and talk to us.

I actually liked that more, actually, because my table wasn't that packed. But it's still great. It's a great thing if there's this much media in here. It means you're doing something special.

And I think we all just, especially our vets, we realize it's not a sprint; it's a marathon. We're starting up September 22nd, and we're trying to play around June 22nd. Just gotta take it in stride, and I think we're all ready for the season.

We all came in here in great shape and we know that last year's now in the past and it's a new journey to bring back that trophy again.

Q. Obviously there are a lot of moves made this offseason by other teams, and I know everyone is just focusing on themselves. But do you guys -- I don't know if fence is the right word -- but do you guys notice it at all does it fire you up at all?
KLAY THOMPSON: Oh yeah, these teams aren't just sitting back and waiting for something to happen. They're being active out there in the market. You've got to respect that.

The Rockets got much better, adding a Hall of Famer in Chris Paul. And the Thunder got better adding Pau. And even the T 'Wolves, who we'll see in a couple of weeks, will be a lot of fun to play. It's crazy, the West just got stronger. But it will be fun.

And like I said, teams aren't waiting for something to happen. They're not waiting to get lucky. They're out there doing something about it and we take notice. And that's what keeps us on the edge, and it doesn't allow us to relax one bit.

Q. Klay, going back to your trip to China, can you just talk about one or two of the most memorable things you experienced over there, what you'll keep with you over the years? And also you've improved your game every single season. What would you like to add to what you're able to do this year?
KLAY THOMPSON: All good questions. I appreciate going to China because when I was a kid I never thought I'd have fans across the world, especially the amount of fans we now have. That's why I'm excited to get there in eight, ten days, whatever it is, to see all the new Warrior fans will be special.

Because I remember when we went over there last time it was Laker country. Now we go over, there's going to be a lot of Curry jerseys, Durant, Draymond Green, hopefully mine. And the crowd, it's going to be like a home game.

And my most memorable moments going over there are just the crowds I drew. I never thought I'd be doing promos in front of 5-, 6,000 people, shooting clinics as well. And we don't even speak the same language. Great to know that basketball is a world language now. They're so eager to learn and see our talent.

And for me, this year I'm just trying to be more efficient as well. I could always be more efficient. And I know Steph and KD have hit the 50/40/90 mark. So I'd like to join the club with them, that would be sweet.

Q. Klay, two years ago you guys had that first championship feeling. This summer you had that redemption championship feeling. Which is better? Are they similar? Just explain the difference between winning the first one, winning this after losing the chance the year before.
KLAY THOMPSON: Well, the first time I came around -- I mean, the first championship it was something so new to me. So I obviously had a great summer after that, just because I couldn't really grasp I was a champion so young.

And last summer, it was obviously the exact opposite a lot of waiting around eager to get the season back, like you said, get that redemption.

But I can't put one in front of the other, man, it's so hard. It's like having kids; you can't pick which one's better that you like more.

But this summer, definitely, I knew how to pace myself and just that championship aura, did it last as long as it did the first time?

But I obviously still feel like the champion. But I worked hard this summer, I'd say, because I know how many more teams are gunning for that title.

Everyone wants to see the Warriors lose now, which is fine. It's a great position to be in when you're probably the most hated in the league. All the greatest teams are hated. So we embrace it.

Q. Guys are going back to China. What can you tell your teammates to enlighten them about that culture. And since you know more than they do, is there anything you can do to troll them while you're over there?
KLAY THOMPSON: My Chinese is probably the best on the team. So if they need a translator I'm here for them.

And I would just tell them to be open minded, be gracious to the fans, because this will probably -- this is probably the only impression you'll ever give them.

And they look up to us as idols, and they follow every move. So it's really cool to me. But a lot of guys, especially the big shoe guys like Draymond, Andre and Steph, and KD, they've taken many trips overseas to China and the Far East. So they know what it's like.

For the young guys, just tell them to embrace the culture and look where basketball has taken you, taken you across the globe. And you see a different side of the world that you probably never thought you'd see as a kid.

Q. Obviously KD's situation has made all the headlines this week. What's the team's mood been like around that? Dray said he texted him the day of and he laughed in his face the next day. Are you guys kind of having the same mood around that? You kind of just hope it kind of moves on?
KLAY THOMPSON: Yeah, it's not a big deal at all. When I was informed about it I was like: Pffft, who cares; it's the Internet. It's not that big a deal.

And the same thing happened with Draymond. I don't want to bring up anything in the past, but we all move on and it's not the first time we all made mistakes with technology.

We're all just excited to get the camp started tomorrow. And the best thing about this team is we can all joke about things like that. Life is too short to take anything way too serious. We'll have fun about it. I'm sure Steve will have something up his sleeve to make fun of us for it.

Q. I'm hoping you can offer us two scouting reports based on what you've seen over the last year. The first is JaVale McGee's 3-point shot.
KLAY THOMPSON: Yeah, wow, it's gotten a lot better. The only -- I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt you.

Q. I want to hear the rest.
KLAY THOMPSON: I'm actually really impressed. I saw him hit some in the Drew League. I've seen him on his Instagram, he hit, like, nine in a row. We knew he could shoot them, but he's so good around the rim we kind of just don't want him venturing out there. But if he's open, let it fly, JaVale.

He's got to have a shootoff with me, Steph and KD before he can shoot them in the game. And Nick, I forgot about Nick. He's a phenomenon catch-and-shoot player, so we've got some shooters on the team. So, JaVale has to shoot with us first before he can translate that to a game, but I have confidence in him.

Q. Second one is Steph Curry's golf game?
KLAY THOMPSON: It's impressive. I was very impressed he shot a 74 at the Web.com tourney. I played it with Andre the day before and the greens are so fast. You're playing a different element -- you're playing in front of hundreds of people and you're not used to it.

So Steph is very composed, and I tell people we'll probably see him on the senior tour when his basketball career is over. I'd like to join him.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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