Klay Thompson has become one of the Warriors’ 4 most accomplished players of all time through 12 seasons in the league. The shooting guard does, however, have ties to the LA Lakers by way of his father Mychal Thompson.
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Mychal Thompson was the first No. 1 overall pick in the NBA to be born overseas. The Bahamian international enjoyed a 12-year-long NBA career during which he played for Portland and the Lakers.
Mychal won 2 championships and made it to 2 more NBA Finals during his 5 seasons with the Lakers before calling it quits. In his retirement, Mychal has been a radio commentator for the organization too.
Given these familial links to Los Angeles, Klay Thompson‘s free agency signature was a topic of conversation during the 2019 offseason. There was an ‘outside chance’ that Mychal’s Lakers link could usher in LeBron’s best shooting teammate of all time.
The former Laker, however, shot down those rumors, maintaining that his son had many post-retirement years to enjoy in Los Angeles if he so wished:
“He’ll be happy here, he loves the good weather. I always tell him when he’s retired, he’ll have another 40 years to spend here. He’s in no rush to get back.”
Mychal Thompson is torn between his son and his beloved Lakers for this upcoming series
Given that his association with the Lakers has lasted nearly 3 decades, Mychal Thompson would undoubtedly be loath to cheer for any other NBA team. That might change, however, with this upcoming series.
However, Klay doesn’t know if his father would root for him. In his post-game-7 interview, Klay made the following comment when asked about Mychal’s loyalties:
“I don’t know, man. I really don’t know. If I had to guess, probably his employer. But I’m just excited. I have so many great memories with him watching the Lakers, watching Kobe, watching Shaq, Pau and the rest of the gang, so I’m just really excited to stick it to the team – or at least try to stick it to the team that I grew up rooting for.”
How important is Klay Thompson for the Warriors?
Klay Thompson is a valuable cog in the Warriors’ machine as they take on the Lakers in the second round. He’ll be expected to shine as Steph’s co-star and create spacing for the rest of his team.
Given the decline in his health, however, Klay is no longer the All-Defensive Team candidate that he once was. He’ll likely be given the assignment of guarding D’Angelo Russell in the series.
If Steph continues to dominate the playoffs as he did in the first round, Lakers fans are in for a long series. While LeBron James has still got some ammo in his tank, facing the defending champions will undoubtedly be a stiffer task for him than his opponents.
