His first highlight as a Warrior came with about a minute left in the first quarter of Golden State’s Christmas Day victory from the Valley of the Sun.

Quinndary Weatherspoon went under a screen, jumped a pass from Cameron Payne intended for Chris Paul and used a give-and-go with Juan Toscano Anderson to hit a left-handed layup.

The Warriors’ bench erupted – Stephen Curry comically resorted to dapping himself up as Weatherspoon focused on getting back on defense – and particularly animated was a recent teammate of Weatherspoon’s with the Santa Cruz Warriors: Klay Thompson.

As Weatherspoon had a notable 14 minutes as a reserve in the win over the Suns, his defensive aggressiveness displayed in the leadup to the fastbreak bucket turned out to be something Thompson had seen during scrimmages with the G League “Sea Dubs”.

According to a tweet by ESPN NBA reporter Nick Friedell, Weatherspoon heard from multiple sources that Thompson had given Golden State’s brass a strong endorsement of Weatherspoon’s defensive abilities after scrimmaging with the former Mississippi State guard in Santa Cruz during a rehabilitation assignment.

So, as Thompson pumped his fist and Draymond Green Jr. adorably clapped along for Weatherspoon, it seemed Klay’s influence gave the guard a chance to take the floor Saturday, which he ran with.

On a team struggling mightily with depth – just don’t tell that to LeBron James – Steve Kerr was likely looking for a spark from the guard position. The Warriors were missing guards in Thompson, Jordan Poole and Damion Lee, and will now be without another defensive presence as Draymond Green entered health and safety protocols Sunday.

Obviously, squads around the association are hemorrhaging roster spots because of the spread of COVID-19 in the country and the NBA, particularly with the omicron variant. However, two-way guard Chris Chiozza continues to underwhelm, and Weatherspoon’s defensive abilities coupled with a Thompson endorsement put him in prime position to take up minutes with Golden State.

Additionally, as jump-shooting is a weaker point in the ~18% 3-pt shooter’s game, Weatherspoon stayed within himself to go a clean 3-for-3 from the field, including a dunk off of a Curry assist.

The stat sheet only lent him one steal, but Weatherspoon was able to bother Devin Booker when the two-time All-Star was matched up on him.

Freelance NBA writer Joe Viray highlighted Weatherspoon’s contribution in Phoenix in a tweet Saturday, showing how impactful and bothersome Weatherspoon could be on the defensive end as he picked up a block.

Asked after the game about taking on Booker and Paul as difficult assignments in his first contest with the team, the 25-year old said the matchup’s origins came down to Klay. The impressive results, on the other hand, came down to Quinndary.

“I kind of figured I was going to have to guard (Booker and Paul),” Weatherspoon said. “I’ve been working with Klay for like three weeks now and he’s been just telling the organization how I’ve been (defending) him. I kind of figured it was going to happen so I was just trying to stay ready and stay positive.”

Weatherspoon even said he was unsure he would play in the nationally-televised matinee, but Curry seemed sure Weatherspoon’s performance revealed a lot about the former San Antonio Spur.

“You got to be wired different to go into a situation like tonight and just show what you’re about,” Curry said. “Defensively he made some amazing plays… he just made his presence felt. That’s 14 really good minutes coming out of the G League straight into a Christmas Day game against the Suns, like that’s a big spot (and) he showed what he’s about.”

(Photo credit: David Becker/NBAE via Getty Images)