Today is Day 11 of the Omer. Netzach sheb’gevurah. From limits comes victory.

When I began dreaming about counting the Omer through basketball, I figured that big men would dominate the week of gevurah. It’s a week all about strength and power, right?! 

However, as I’ve immersed myself further in each day’s combination of sefirot, I’ve understood that while gevurah is at the core, it manifests each day in a unique way. So while there are a ton of great big men who wore the #11, including Hall of Famers: Yao Ming, Elvin Hayes, Bob McAdoo, and Arvydas Sabonis, none of them were my final choice for a today.

Instead, it’s a person who only cares about one thing: winning (aka netzach). Klay Thompson has helped lead the Golden State Warriors on 5 straight runs to the NBA Finals with hard work, humility, and a team-first attitude. The 3x Champion has done everything for his team, from guarding the other team’s best wing to knocking down clutch 3s.

Despite being a 5x All-Star and one of the best 15 players in the NBA, he’s always been the 2nd or 3rd best player on his own team and never gotten the respect he deserves. Plenty have wondered what Thompson would look like running his own team, but he’s been happy to cede the spotlight. 

Despite the relative lack of accolades, Thompson has often been the best Warrior on the floor. He catches fire like no other player in the league, once scoring 60 pts in 29min (over three quarters) vs. the Indiana Pacers.

Thompson was so efficient in going 21-33 from the field, that he only took 11 dribbles the whole game while holding the ball for a TOTAL of 90 seconds. It’s this kind of game which embodies Thompsons’s gevurah nature – playing within strong boundaries, limiting the amount of touches, time, and space he needs.

Thompson highlights are so fun to watch. You might enjoy the time he dropped 52, with 14 threes vs. the Bulls or scored a record 37 points in one quarter vs. the Sacramento Kings.

His quick release and pure shoot help him take up only the space he needs while winning game after game, the ultimate encapsulation of Day 11, netzach sheb’gevurah.