Mychal Thompson looks ahead to Klay Thompson returning to Golden State Warriors as a Dallas Maverick (Exclusive)
Klay Thompson’s proud father sounded genuinely touched as he anticipated the emotions when his son returns to the Bay Area since leaving the Golden State Warriors for the Dallas Mavericks.
When the Warriors (8-2) host the Mavericks (5-5) in group play of the Emirates Cup on Tuesday, the Warriors will honor Klay with different gestures to convey their appreciation for his role in the team’s four NBA championships (2015, 2017, 2018, 2022) during his 13-year tenure there (2011-2024).
The Warriors will give a captain’s hat to fans in honor of Klay’s love for boating as a hobby and a commuting option to practices and games. Warriors guard Stephen Curry will toast Klay presumably about forming what many argued has become the NBA’s best backcourt in league history.
The Warriors will also play a video tribute, which likely will feature Thompson’s 37-point quarter against Sacramento (2015) and his 11 3s against Oklahoma City in Game 6 of the 2016 Western Conference Finals.
“I’ll be watching and very appreciative the Warriors are doing all of this for Klay,” Mychal Thompson told Sportskeeda. “It’s really nice for Joe Lacob and the organization.”
Nonetheless, Mychal doesn’t plan to attend the game.
“I was thinking about. It was only an hour flight. But I’ll stay at home and watch it at home,” Mychal said. “His mother will be there. Julie will represent me.”
The reason? Mychal, the Lakers’ radio analyst for KSPN-710, said he wanted to minimize his travel following the Lakers’ recent six-game trip and prepare for Wednesday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies. Mychal also wanted to give Klay some space before and after facing his former team that drafted him at No. 11 in 2011.
“You can’t forget it’s a business trip,” Mychal said. “All of the tributes and recognition is fine. But you still have a game to win.”
Mychal spoke to Sportskeeda about the Warriors’ various tributes, prediction that Curry and Thompson would become the NBA’s best shooting backcourt, his favorite Klay memories in Golden State and Klay’s fit in Dallas.
Editor’s note: The following one-on-one conversation has been edited and condensed.
What are your emotions leading into Klay’s return to the Bay on Tuesday?
Thompson: “It’ll be nice to give Klay a nice welcome back ceremony before, of course, they want to kick his butt in the game (laughs). That’s nice. That’s a nice show of appreciation for his time, his history and legacy that he left there. So it’ll be a great way to honor the time he, Steph and Draymond spent together up there.”
How do you expect this game playing out with Draymond [Green] saying he wants to run through Klay’s chest?
Thompson: “If Draymond does that, I hope they are in the penalty so Klay can shoot the two free throws. I expect the game to be very competitive. The Warriors are playing very well, and the Mavericks are a good team. So I know his teammates are going to want to win the game for Klay as part of the tribute. I expect a very good game on both sides.”
What do you think of the Warriors handing out ‘Captain Klay’ hats to the fans?
Thompson: “That’s perfect. Next to basketball, that’s Klay’s favorite thing to do. It’s actually his third favorite thing to do. It’s first play basketball and then hang out with Rocco. And then go in the water.”
Have you enjoyed the water at all with Klay on his boat rides?
Thompson: “No. I only enjoy the water in the Bahamas, man. That’s real, warm water. The water off the California coast is too cold. There are too many great white sharks.”
Why not just stay on Klay’s boat? You don’t have to be in the water.
Thompson: “Yeah, but I’m from the Bahamas. When you’re on a boat on the water, you have to be able to jump in the water. If you can’t jump in the water, what’s the sense in going out on the boat?”
You don’t get any joy in just relaxing on a boat?
Thompson: “No, man. I grew up jumping off the boat and going snorkeling and spear fishing in the Bahamas. And that’s in 72-degree water, crystal-clear water. So when I go out on a boat, that’s the only way I know how to enjoy the boat.
"I’ve been on many boats before Klay was born. I’ve had many captain hats on. I would be in the Bahamas, hanging out with my friends on yachts, on fishing boats or cruising on power boats. Man, that’s when you feel the freest. That’s why I understand Klay loves being out in the water so much.”
The Warriors are also going to play Klay a tribute video. What highlights do you hope they capture?
Thompson: “He’s had so many historic and memorable moments in a Warriors uniform. Obviously, part of it would be the 37-point quarter [against Sacramento] and winning the four championships. They’ll put the four different championship images up on the scoreboard and a championship parade video.
"Riding into Chase Center with his bicycle should be up there. The moment he was announced as their draft pick in 2011 should be up there as well. The Oklahoma City game [Game 6 of the 2016 Western Conference Finals] has got to be in that package, too.”
Steph is also going to speak about Klay before the game. Where do you rank that partnership in NBA history?
Thompson: “That’s one of the greatest partnerships ever. You can compare it to peanut butter and jelly. They’re one of the greatest duos of all time. No question about it. They won four championships together. You have to win championships together to be compared to Scottie [Pippen] and Michael [Jordan] or to Magic [Johnson] and Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] or [Tim ] Duncan and [Manu] Ginobili and [Tony] Parker. They are definitely in that category or that conversation.”
One of the interesting parts in Klay’s career is when Mark Jackson called Steph and Klay are the best shooting backcourt in NBA history. We all know how that played out, but how did that land with you when he said that [in 2014]?
Thompson: “Mark said it after I said it, but nobody heard it. When I heard Klay got drafted by the Warriors [in 2011], I told him, ‘You and Steph are going to be the best shooting backcourt in NBA history.’ Nobody has come close. I knew how great of a shooter Klay was. Everybody knew Steph’s reputation and resume.
"When I heard that Jerry West wanted the Warriors to draft Klay, I told him, ‘Klay, if you go there, you and Steph will light the league up with your shooting.’ But you know, Mark, I’ve said this on the radio before, but of course, nobody pays attention to it because ‘I’m a blowhard father and that’s what he’s always going to say.’ But when your coach, a prominent coach and NBA figure like Mark Jackson says it publicly, that’s when everybody took notice.”
How did it register with you that Jerry West and other members of the Warriors’ front office were adamant about not including Klay in any Kevin Love trade proposals?
Thompson: “Very flattering. Nobody can judge talent in NBA history better than Jerry West. So if Jerry West had that opinion of Klay and being with Steph to be the backcourt for the ages, that was the highest compliment Klay could receive as a player.”
What do you remember most about Klay’s 37-point quarter against Sacramento?
Thompson: “I was sitting on the plane after a Lakers game watching it on my iPhone on the NBA app. I couldn’t believe what I was watching, just like everybody else. But when Klay made three, four and five shots in a row, I was like, ‘Klay is on one of those rolls.’
"Then his teammates recognized he was hot. Then Steph and everybody got out of the way and kept giving him the ball. They realized that something weird and something different was happening here. It was cool how his teammates recognized the moment that was happening?”
How did he pull all that off without even dribbling or having the ball in his hands that much?
Thompson: “That’s what Klay is all about – catch-and-shoot and moving without the ball. He patented his game after Reggie Miller and Ray Allen. He worked on that and perfected that throughout his teenage years. So to see him do that at the highest level doesn’t surprise me at all.”
What are your favorite memories of Klay’s Game 6 against the Thunder in 2016?
Thompson: “That was surreal to watch him get unleashed like that and get into a zone. All shooters get into that kind of zone. You’ve seen Steph do it a million times. You’ve seen Dale Ellis do it, Dell Curry do it. All shooters go through a zone like that several times in a season or in the playoffs. It was extra special that you can do it in a playoff game, especially in a playoff game that might eliminate you.”
What do you remember thinking when Joe Lacob bowed down to Klay after the game?
Thompson: “That was kind of cool. Klay definitely deserved it that night. That was a special night. It took a long time before those 11 3s were surpassed. Finally, Damian Lillard got it a couple of years ago [in 2021]. But it took double overtime for him to get there.”
What’s your favorite NBA championship memory for Klay?
Thompson: “The first one [in 2015]. Even though they played a short-handed Cavs team without [Kevin] Love and [Kyrie] Irving, the first one they won is when they came out of nowhere. That was unexpected. They weren’t the favorite to win it, of course. That made it extra special.
"When they got Kevin Durant, that was automatic. As long as they were healthy, nobody was going to beat them. If they would’ve stayed together, they would have won five or six in a row. Even the last one was extra special [in 2022] because of how he battled back from his injuries to be another part of a championship team.”
So five or six in a row?
Thompson: “Oh yeah. No question about it. They would have matched Michael Jordan’s six [championships] if they had stayed healthy and stayed together.”
Do you have ‘what ifs’ about that?
Thompson: “Heck yeah! All the time! I still talk about it with my Lakers buddies – Magic and everybody else – with how special the Kevin Durant-Warrior teams was. Even in 2019, except when they had the injuries with Kevin and Klay. If they had stayed together healthy, they definitely would have been able to win six or seven championships.
"If not for the injuries to Kevin and Klay, the Warriors would have five titles instead of four. Kevin Durant would have three rings instead of two. That’s the biggest ‘what if’ on if they wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”
As you know, Klay had a lot of success with the Warriors, but also a lot of challenging ones. Starting with the 2016 Finals and losing to Cleveland…
Thompson: (interrupts). “Outside of the injuries, that is the most frustrating moment. The championship was in their hands. I know you still have to win one more game. But they were up 3-1 and were a 73-win team. Now nobody talks about that 73-win team because they didn’t finish the deal. That would’ve made them the greatest team in history had they, could've, won that championship.”
Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals had different emotions. The Warriors lost to Toronto. Klay tore his ACL. But he still walked back onto the court to make two free throws. How do you put that night into perspective?
Thompson: “Man, I try not to think about that night. It was so frustrating and so unfortunate that it happened to him. As he has said, he felt like he was at the height of his powers in that series. Some things happen. Injuries are a part of the game. You just can’t explain it. You have to accept it, fight through it and battle back. That’s exactly what he did.”
Last season, how did you see Klay handle the contract negotiations and not getting the offer he had hoped from the Warriors and then choosing Dallas?
Thompson: “That’s part of the business sometimes. As the Rolling Stones said, ‘You don’t always get what you want.’ Sometimes that’s the way it plays out in business and in life.”
Through it all, the Warriors are also retiring Klay’s No. 11 jersey at the end of his career. What does that mean to you and Klay?
Thompson: “That’s really special to have your number retired by a franchise. No. 23 will be up there, too along with No. 30, of course. All three of those guys deserve that recognition, obviously.”
I caught up with Klay a few weeks ago, and he seemed really at peace and enjoying his new stint in Dallas. Why do you think he’s pivoted so well?
Thompson: “He made a great choice with going to Dallas. He’s able to do that because Klay is very introspective and reflective. He realizes how blessed and fortunate he is to still be in the NBA and still have a special job. There’s no reason to be bitter about anything, but be thankful that he still has some years left to play.”
Have you gotten used to seeing Klay in a Mavs uniform?
Thompson: “It’s weird to see him in a different uniform and see him in a different number. I guess it’s going to take a whole season to get used to that to get the Warriors spirit out of my system. It’s a different style, that’s for sure. I’m getting used to watching him play a different style from what he was used to with the Warriors with all the ball movement and man movement. The Warriors are continuing to do that and blow the league away with it. That system works no matter who is in it."
How do you think the fit has been so far with Luka and Kyrie?
Thompson: “Klay can fit in any system. Any time you can spread the floor and help the team shoot and spread the offense especially with two great playmakers that the Mavericks have, Klay seems to be fitting in perfectly there.”