‘No Drama' for Klay While Awaiting NBA All-Star Game Selections

OAKLAND -- Klay Thompson said he was notified of his third consecutive invitation to the NBA All-Star Game just like most of the rest of the world.

By watching the televised announcements on Thursday.

With the glut of quality guards in the Western Conference, Thompson said he would have happily accepted any outcome.

"There was no drama; it's a win-win situation," he said Friday. "If you make it, it's a great honor to go represent your organization and the NBA. If you don't, you get to take a vacation, which is much needed for a lot of players.

"I wasn't too worried. I knew something good was going to happen."

Thompson was, along with teammate Draymond Green, selected as a reserve through a process that involves the voting of coaches within the conference.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who will coach the West squad, which also includes Warriors Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant as starters, acknowledged he was uncertain whether Thompson would be joining the team.

"If you look at the guard position in particular, I was hoping Klay would get in; I figured Draymond would," Kerr said. "But I wasn't sure about Klay, based on if you go down the list, there's Mike Conley, Chris Paul, Damian Lillard, CJ (McCollum) -- and they're all deserving.

"But I'm glad the coaches recognized Klay's two-way ability. That's probably something that goes a little bit under the radar, the defensive responsibility that Klay has, night in and night out, against all these incredible guards in the league."

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