Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr expressed deep emotions regarding Klay Thompson's return to the Bay Area, this time as a member of the Dallas Mavericks.

Thompson finished with 22 points in an emotional return to Chase Center for the first time since he departed, though former team-mate Steph Curry stole the show. 

Curry scored 37 points, including Golden State's final 12, to rally the Warriors past the Mavericks 120-117 in the NBA Cup on Tuesday.

Thompson spent 13 successful years with Kerr in San Francisco, winning four NBA Championships. 

After the game, Kerr revealed the surreal moment between himself and Curry before he went out to meet with his former “Splash Brother” Thompson. 

"We went over our pre-game scout and the matchups,” Kerr said. “It was almost surreal saying, ‘Steph, you got Klay.’ Steph smiled.”

In Thompson’s time in California, he was part of the core alongside Curry and Draymond Green, who also helped to bring so much success to the team.

However, Thompson missed more than two years after suffering back-to-back injuries.

First, an ACL tear and then a torn right Achilles tendon – before making a return in January 2022, with Kerr lauding his resilience to come back to the sport. 

“I think what he overcame is almost unprecedented,” Kerr told reporters.

“The last couple of years after he came back, he struggled reconciling all of that, losing those prime seasons. We all saw that, saw him struggle with it emotionally.

"We saw him fight to get his game back. He helped us win a championship, led the league in threes two years ago, he did a lot of amazing things.

“We wished that this had gone forever, that Klay would have finished his career with us, but circumstances always dictate these things.

"In the end, I think he made the right choice. He was not happy and that was hard to see, because he deserves to be happy. At his core, he’s a very happy person.”