"I beaned him right in the back; Knew he was gonna be a Cav" - Klay Thompson recalls funny incident about pitching Kevin Love in their youth baseball days
Golden State Warriors star Klay Thompson continues to be one of the top personalities in the NBA on and off the court. Despite basketball fans across the world patiently wait for Thompson to return to the floor, he's continued to bring us entertainment as he prepares to make his anticipated return to the court.
Thompson grew up in Oregon and was a childhood friend of Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love. They both grew up playing baseball together, and Thompson recently told us a story about their friendship during a Warriors preseason trip to play the Portland Trail Blazers. It appears that the "rivalry" between Thompson and Love didn't just blossom on the basketball court, but it might have even started on a baseball field.
"I faced Kevin Love here. I was pitching, he was batting. I beaned him. Right in the back. Knew he was going to be a cav."
“I beaned him right in the back. ... Knew he was gonna be a Cav” 😂
Klay Thompson hit Kevin Love with a pitch in youth baseball
(via @warriors) https://t.co/juHJb1oyBf
Klay Thompson spent some time during the Warriors visit to Portland getting back to his "roots" and visiting the gym of his old stomping rounds at Riverdale Grade School. The extended video of Thompson returning to the city where he grew up was released by the Golden State Warriors social account below.
Nothin' like returning to your roots.
During the team's trip to Portland earlier this month, @KlayThompson visited a few of the defining places of his childhood. https://t.co/PquS4u8msm
Klay Thompson and Kevin Love not only shared a bond during their childhood, but they went on to have a countless number of battles in the NBA Finals. The Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers went on to face each other in four consecutive finals dating from 2015-2018. Thompson would get the last laugh over those years, as the Warriors went on to win three of those series. This time both players have been battling to find themselves getting back in the NBA Finals. Thompson has dealt with a number of nagging injuries over the years and will hopefully be back to his hold self in the near future. Kevin Love still finds himself with the Cleveland Cavaliers after former teammates Kyrie Irving and LeBron James have moved on to other organizations.
It's always interesting to look back and see the paths that some of the game's top players have come from. For Thompson, he grew up in Oregon before eventually moving to Orange County and then eventually heading to Washington State for his college basketball career. Love, on the other hand, stayed around the Portland area before eventually committing to play basketball at UCLA. Both players went on to become lottery picks in their respective NBA Draft classes and both have gone on to have successful careers in the NBA. For a pair of childhood friends that once shared a baseball field together, it's fascinating to see how long they've come as basketball players on and off the court.