“It’s an Honor to Matchup Against the Greats!”: Klay Thompson Appreciates Matching Up Against LeBron James for the 5th Time

The Golden State Warriors managed to protect their home court tonight as they hosted the Lakers for Game 2. After the Lakers took Game 1, the Warriors came out and made some big adjustments right from the start. One of them was Klay Thompson going ballistic, like we’ve seen him do so many times. After the game, the Warriors’ sharpshooter talked to the press, where he described how grateful he is to play against the greats, and match up against LeBron James for the 5th time.

The Warriors came out with a kind of fierceness that was missing on Tuesday. After getting dominated in the paint and outmatched on the FT line, the Warriors took care of business tonight. Klay Thompson led the way, scoring 30 points on 8 of 11 shooting from the deep, 11 of 18 overall. This ensured a 127-100 Warriors win.

Klay Thompson spoke about matching up against LeBron James

After the game today, a reporter brought up how Klay had the same stats tonight as he did in Game 3 of the 2017 NBA Finals.

KLAY WENT OFF 🔥

Warriors win Game 2. pic.twitter.com/PXihdD9nZz

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 5, 2023

Surprised by the same, Klay Thompson talked about how weird it is to see LeBron James as a Laker, considering the history the Warriors and the Cavs have. He then went on to say,

“LeBron’s one of the special players, the Michaels, Kobes, LeBron, who bring out the best in you, especially from a competitive standpoint. It’s always an honor to match up against the greats. It’s not us vs LeBron James, though. They have a very complete team, the Lakers do. The fact that he’s still doing it at 38 is inspiring.”

“It’s always an honor to match up against the greats.”

– Klay on facing LeBron again in the playoffs pic.twitter.com/uyP71WDRfr

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) May 5, 2023

It’s the fifth time the Warriors are facing LeBron James in the playoffs, and the first time outside the NBA Finals. It’s amazing to see the Warriors’ core stay intact and LBJ still performing at such a high level, despite being 38. Klay also went on to talk about Kobe Bryant.

Klay talks about the impact Kobe Bryant had on him

As soon as it was decided the Warriors are playing the Lakers, Klay got very excited. He has history with the Lakers, with his dad Mychal Thompson winning two championships with the storied franchise. He also lived in Los Angeles as a kid, and spent a lot of time in and around Staples Center.

Talking about playing in LA and Kobe’s impact on him, Klay said,

“I’m a huge Kobe fan. He’s my biggest inspiration. I’m going to play my hardest and honor him and Gigi. Without his play and all those years of viewing his tenacity on the court, I would not be the athlete that I am today.”

“Without his play and all those years of viewing his tenacity on the court, I would not be the athlete that I am today.”

Klay Thompson on playing Playoff games in Los Angeles, where he was inspired at a young age by Kobe Bryant.#NBAPlayoffs presented by @madebygoogle pic.twitter.com/DuMynbYnr5

— NBA (@NBA) May 5, 2023

From his words, we can expect Klay to bring the heat as the series head to Los Angeles for Games 3 and 4.