Who will be the next NBA star to play their entire career with one team?

PORTLAND, OR - MAY 18: Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers and Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors looks on during Game Three of the Western Conference Finals of the 2019 NBA Playoffs on May 18, 2019 at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images) /

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4. Klay Thompson

This one is tricky.

If the bar is six All-Star appearances, Klay is still one short. He’s not going to get there this year, and he turns 30 in February.

(by the way, after Steph, Thompson is tied with John Wall for most All-Star nods among active players who have played their entire career with one team. Giannis and Draymond each have three. One current player has four. We’ll get to him soon.)

The younger Splash Brother signed a new five-year deal with the Warriors just this summer. As unfathomable as it is to imagine them dealing Curry unless he asked to leave, them dealing Klay would come in a close second. He’s as synonymous with their success as Draymond but doesn’t come with any of the same headaches or baggage. There’s no reason to think he’s ever going anywhere.

Unless he wants to. Thompson will be 34 when this contract runs out, and shooters age remarkably well. If the Warriors aren’t in a spot to contend at that time (and really, how in the hell could anyone possibly project such a thing), who’s to say he might not go ring chasing, especially if Anthony Davis is entering the 5th year of his own max deal with the Lakers in the summer of 2024?

Simply put, he’s in a different class from our next three players, who are the no-doubt-about-it lead dogs for their respective organizations.

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