“Just Wanted To See Michael Jordan So Bad”: Klay Thompson Revealed How His Father Introduced Him To The 6x Champ

David Stern once said during the 1998 All-Star Game after MJ won the ASG MVP, “Michael Jordan is the All-Star of All-Stars.” This couldn’t be truer for anybody else in the league. By the time 1998 had rolled around, ‘His Airness’ was more than just a basketball player. He was a cultural icon, a role model, a figure of immense influence. 

Most describe meeting Jordan as an out-of-bdy experience. Most recently, Shannon Sharpe claimed that when he met MJ for the very first time, he felt like the 6x NBA champion was levitating off of the ground. Of course, this was not the case but it goes to show just how revered he is as a man. 

Larry Bird calling him ‘Black Jesus’ after getting lit up for 63 points at the Garden when Michael was merely a sophomore in the league only added fuel to the fire that was, ‘MJ isn’t real’. This feeling of pure astonishment is exactly how Klay Thompson felt when he first met him.

Also read: NBA All-Stars As Rookies: Which NBA Superstars Made The All-Star Game In Their Rookie Season?

Klay Thompson describes meeting Michael Jordan for the very first time 

Klay Thompson is the son of NBA star, Mychal Thompson. Mychal was the number one overall pick in the 1978 NBA Draft as he was picked by the Portland Trailblazers. He would go on to win two championships with the Los Angeles Lakers and even had a season where he averaged over 20 points a game. 

Mychal was never an adversary of Jordan’s but given that he was a player in the league, had connections to him. So, after one Bulls game in 1998, Mychal took his sons to go meet Michael Jordan. Klay Thompson, who is now in the NBA, describes this as a moment where he couldn’t muster up a single word.

OTD (1998) Young Klay met MJ 🐐pic.twitter.com/FfjXk2npsM

— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) January 30, 2023

Fast-forward to present day and Klay, a 6’6 shooting guard like MJ, has won 4 championships, surpassed his father’s accomplishments, and established himself as one of the greatest shooters in NBA history. 

Michael Jordan wanted to spell his name differently 

While Mychal Thompson and Michael Jordan barely had any connection to one another, the latter did acknowledge him in one instance. When talking to Mychal’s brother, Andy, he told him how he admired the fact that Mychal spelt his name that way. 

He even admitted to wanting to have his name be spelt that way too. When he was 10 years old, he would constantly spell his name that way, leading to his mother, Deloris, scolding him for it.

Also read: Earning Merely 5% From Jordan Brand, Michael Jordan Has Brought In $19 Billion For Nike In 5 Years