College basketball took him to Pullman, Wash., where his jersey also was retired by Washington State. He went on to spend the first 13 years of his NBA career in the Bay Area, where he played a large role in four titles won by the Golden State Warriors.
This week Thompson became a free agent. His father, Mychal Thompson — a two-time NBA champion with the Showtime Lakers and now the team’s radio color commentator — hoped his son finally was coming home.
“He grew up a Laker fan. He grew up idolizing Kobe Bryant like most players his age, most kids his age,” Mychal said Tuesday on Sirius XM NBA Radio’s “The Starting Lineup.” “So I just thought it seemed to be the perfect fit for him to finally come back home, ‘cause we always talked about him playing for the Lakers if he was not a Golden State Warrior, where else would he want to play?”
By the time his dad posed that question, Klay had made his answer known to the world. On Monday, the five-time All-Star accepted a sign-and-trade deal with the Dallas Mavericks, reportedly for three years and $50 million.
According to The Times’ Dan Woike, the Lakers are believed to have offered more years and more money, but also would have had to execute a sign-and-trade to create that space.
Mychal Thompson did not try to hide his disappointment the next day, telling radio hosts Frank Isola and Brian Scalabrine to “hold your congratulations. I’m not feeling too much in a congratulatory mood right now.”
Thompson didn’t sound angry or bitter as he spoke. He was just a loyal Laker expressing his feelings.
“I mean, obviously, it’s Klay’s decision, it’s his life, he’s a grown man, 34 years of age,” Thompson said. “Just like we were 34 one time and our fathers used to give us advice and, you know, we would choose our own path. And that’s fine, that’s what life is supposed to be about.
“But I’m really disappointed. I was hoping, hoping, as you can assess, that he would be a Laker. It was close, it came down to the Lakers and the Mavs, but the Mavs won out. But you know me, I was hoping and praying he’d finish his career with the Lakers.”
Mychal added, “I’ll live with it, I accept it and I’m happy for him that he’s happy with his decision, but yeah, of course I tried to sell him on the Lakers.”
Also on Tuesday, Warriors star Stephen Curry posted a heartfelt goodbye to Thompson, as well as a large collection of photos featuring the two “Splash Brothers” on his Instagram Stories.
“Gonna miss you @klaythompson,” Curry wrote.
“Even though we won’t finish the journey together, what we did will never be done again. Couldn’t have imagined a better run with you and @money23green. Changed the whole Bay Area. Changed the way the game is played. Killa Klay at the center of it all. Thank you for everything bro. Go enjoy playing basketball and doing what you do.
“Splash Bros 4 life my guy.”