“Cheating, had me around your whole family playing house,” read Megan Thee Stallion’s Instagram story on April 25 after her breakup with NBA player Klay Thompson. The pair had been dating for nine months, and Megan Thee Stallion had spoken very highly of Thompson prior to the separation. She gushed over him while in their relationship, saying, “This is one of the first times I’ve ever felt overly comfortable. I’m comfy.” In fact, she was so cozy in their relationship that she even wrote her song “LOVER GIRL” about him. 

Because of this, fans were shocked to hear that Thompson cheated on the three-time Grammy Award-winning artist. With the situation coming to light, media and news outlets are slandering Thompson online, especially since Megan Thee Stallion fans have joined in on the hate train. A user tweeted on X, formerly known as Twitter, in disbelief, “… you can NOT be a straight man and cheat on Megan The Stallion.” Thompson, for his part, hasn’t commented on the cheating allegations. But the controversy brought Thompson’s name back into the spotlight — for all the wrong reasons. 

Amid the public backlash, Thompson’s basketball career has already been in shambles. He has not been the same player since his time on the Golden State Warriors. As half of the Splash Brothers pair with Stephen Curry, Thompson was an intimidating powerhouse from 2015 to 2019. In the 2015-16 season, the Warriors opened with a 24-game win streak. During that time, Thompson shot 42.5% from the 3-point range and averaged 22.1 points a game. Along with his individual superstar performance, the Warriors went 73-9 that year. 

However, the Warriors dynasty and Thompson’s golden era did not last. Thompson suffered two major injuries in 2019 and 2021 that kept him off the court — first his ACL, then his Achilles. He was out between June 2019 and January 2022. In his last year with the Warriors, Thompson was back, but his age and injuries started to impact his ability to play at the highest level. In the 2023-24 season, Thompson shot 39% from the 3-point range and averaged 17 points per game, which reflected a reduced impact on the floor, as he was no longer any different than every player in the NBA. 

ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith, clearly unimpressed by his recent performance, asked, “If Klay Thompson isn’t shooting the ball at an elite level, what use is there for him any longer?” 

Clearly, his 3-point shooting was no longer what it used to be, just like his relationship with Megan Thee Stallion. 

Thompson’s performance had visibly declined, and the Warriors could not come to a proper agreement with him. When Thompson became a free agent after the 2023-24 season, no one seemed to want to sign him. 

In desperation, he signed a three-year, $50 million deal with the Dallas Mavericks, home to star Luka Dončić. In his first game playing with Dončić and the Mavericks, Thompson scored 22 points in 26 minutes and went 6 for 10 from the 3-point range. There was no doubt that Dončić and Thompson brought out the best in each other. However, that dynamic was cut short in early February 2025 when Dončić was traded away midseason to the Los Angeles Lakers. 

After the Dončić trade, Thompson’s age and injuries really started to show. This season, Thompson averaged 11.7 points per game — a far cry from his 22.1 average in his prime season in 2015 on the Warriors. He’s slower, not as smooth on the court, and a less accurate shooter. This season, his accuracy from the 3-point range hit an all-time low of 38.3%. That, along with the glaring absence of a superstar player like Curry or Dončić to create wide open shots for him, made it harder for him to score. Additionally, his role on the Mavericks was demoted from key player to being cast aside as a bench player. 

Thompson’s move to the bench has fans wondering how many years he has left in the tank. Although he started his career on the Mavericks as someone with major potential to transform the team to a championship contender, that ship has sailed. The Mavericks finished this season 26-56, placing 12th out of 15 teams in the Western Conference.

Only time will tell if prime Thompson will reemerge, although it’s unlikely to happen at this stage in his career. This Splash Brother has met his end, if not soon, especially with the Megan Thee Stallion situation coming to light. His management has yet to respond to the backlash, and with the sharp decline in performance, this might be the last time Thompson’s seen in the public eye.