“Kobe Bryant Pulled up And Met Us”: When Klay Thompson Narrated His First Experience of Meeting Lakers Legend as a Kid

Kobe Bryant left an imprint on the minds of all basketball fans during his time in the league. Klay Thompson was just one out of millions.

Kobe Bryant is commonly regarded as the greatest shooting guard of all time other than Michael Jordan. Though Jordan is almost universally considered superior, MJ himself acknowledged that Kobe deserved these comparisons.

The Black Mamba dedicated his whole basketball career to becoming a better player on the court. Every offseason, he’d train harder than his competition and return with new tools in his arsenal.

There wasn’t a shot, a pass or a play that Kobe couldn’t make on the basketball court. The 6’6″ guard embodied toughness and character on a whole other level when he took the court.

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How Klay Thompson met Kobe Bryant for the first time

Klay Thompson was drafted to the NBA in 2011. The sharpshooter, who’s the son of former no. 1 overall pick Mychal Thompson, had already met Kobe on a former occasion.

The Lakers lost the 2004 NBA Finals to the Detroit Pistons in a dispiriting fashion. Kobe Bryant was the main target for all critics as he put up shoddy field goal percentages and was maligned for shooting his Lakers out of games.

After his season ended, Kobe ended up dining with Mychal Thompson, who was a color commentator for the Lakers at that time. As described by Klay,

“It was just me, my dad, my uncle and my little brother at a table. I remember Kobe pulled up and sat with us after his season just ended. I think he was just exhausted. Definitely pi**ed off. I don’t remember talking to him. I don’t remember saying much. But his presence was so cool, as a kid.”

Also Read – “Kobe Bryant Was a God to Us”: Klay Thompson Felt Honoured To Share the Court For the First Time With the Black Mamba

Thompson was on the court as Bryant suffered his Achilles tear

The 2012-13 Lakers were touted as pre-season favorites to take the Larry O’Brien trophy home. However, the acquisitions of Dwight Howard and Steve Nash didn’t go quite the way the Lakers had envisioned before.

They stuttered their way to a below .500 record till the All-Star break. It was left to Kobe to lead them to a playoff berth. Bryant obliged by playing 40+ minutes on a nightly basis as they made their playoff push.

His final straw came in a win over the Warriors in April. Having already played 44+ minutes, Kobe was fouled by Harrison Barnes on an attempted layup. His landing saw him tear the Achilles in an incident that ultimately led to his retirement.

However, Kobe soldiered on, trying to correct his Achilles by pushing down on it and forcing himself to carry on. Unable to do so, Bryant stayed on the court and knocked down 2 free throws to keep the Lakers in the lead.

“I just remember him toughing it out,” Thompson said. “Walking off the floor under his own willpower. Achilles rupture and all. I didn’t even know it was that bad because it didn’t really faze him.”

Also Read – Klay Thompson honors fellow 6’6 athlete and Laker legend Kobe Bryant and Gianna Bryant at the 2022 ESPYS