Klay Thompson’s father has admitted his disappointment at his son’s decision to snub the Los Angeles Lakers and sign for the Dallas Mavericks.
Mychal Thompson, who won two NBA championships as a Laker in an illustrious playing career, had hoped Klay would follow in his footsteps but, instead, he signed a three-year, $50million deal with the Mavs.
“Obviously it’s Klay’s decision. It’s his life,” Mychal Thompson told SiriusXM NBA Radio.
“He’s a grown man, 34 years of age, just like we were 34 at 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.
“I’m really disappointed. I was hoping, as you can assess, that he would be a Laker. And 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.”
Warriors statement on Klay Thompson: pic.twitter.com/qIscaFW5mN
— Warriors PR (@WarriorsPR) July 2, 2024
Mychal Thompson was hoping his son, who moves to Dallas after 13 hugely successful seasons with the Golden State Warriors, growing up as a fan of Kobe Bryant would be a factor.
He added: “We always talked about him playing for the Lakers.
“If he was not a Golden State Warrior, where else would he want to play? And of course, being a fan of Kobe’s, he would’ve loved to have played for the Lakers.
“But he had a chance, and when the chance came, he chose the Mavericks instead. And 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.”
Klay Thompson averaged 17.9 points last season for the Warriors and was benched in late February after a poor run of form.
