Warriors star Klay Thompson waited over a decade for this matchup.
Now, after splitting the first two games of the series 1-1 at home in Golden State, the Warriors will head on the road to Los Angeles. These games are especially meaningful for Klay, whose father Mychal Thompson won two titles for the Lakers.
Klay was born in Los Angeles and he later went to high school in Southern California. Mychal has previously tweeted photos of Klay wearing Lakers gear as a young child.
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During a postgame interview on Thursday, the Warriors star said that he is going to play especially hard in Los Angeles “to honor” the late Kobe and Gigi Bryant.
"Without his play and all those years of viewing his tenacity on the court, I would not be the athlete that I am today."
Klay Thompson on playing Playoff games in Los Angeles, where he was inspired at a young age by Kobe Bryant.#NBAPlayoffs presented by @madebygoogle pic.twitter.com/DuMynbYnr5
— NBA (@NBA) May 5, 2023
“I’m a huge Kobe [Bryant] fan. He was my biggest inspiration. I’m just going to play my hardest to honor him and Gigi cause without his play and me viewing his tenacity on the court, I would not be the athlete I am today.”
Klay had an incredibly sweet message for Bryant’s family after he won an ESPY in 2022.
Klay’s father, Mychal, recently said that Kobe was like a mentor for Klay (via The Sporting Tribune)
“The Lakers were his team as a kid. Kobe [Bryant] was his guy. For him to be able to play against the Lakers and play in LA and Crypto.com Arena, it has been most meaningful to him because of his affection for the Lakers’ franchise and for Kobe. Anytime school permitted, I would get him and my other two sons up here to Lakers games so they can appreciate the greatness of Kobe and Shaq. That was their era when they were growing up with Derek Fisher, Rick Fox and that whole crew. They saw what winners and what champions were like. They saw what it was like to play for the best franchise in basketball. They got to meet the guys. They were very nice to them and very accommodating. Shaq and Kobe were always that way. They were great mentors for kids. It wasn’t just for my kids, but for every kid.”
Klay worked out with Kobe when he was in high school and had his first NBA matchup against Bryant in 2012.
The Warriors will play Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals in Los Angeles at 8:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.
