Klay Thompson, a standout for the Golden State Warriors, attributes his athleticism to his parents, Mychal and Julie, who have supported him throughout his whole basketball career.
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The five-time NBA All-Star was conceived on February 8, 1990, by former athletes Mychal and Julie Thompson. While Mychal is a former NBA player who played for the Portland Trailblazers, the San Antonio Spurs, and the Los Angeles Lakers, Julie is a former collegiate volleyball player and track and field athlete.
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The couple also has two other sons: Trayce, an outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Mychel, Klay’s younger brother, who played basketball in the NBA’s G League for six years.
Klay’s parents had a significant influence on his athletic career, but neither he nor his brothers have ever felt compҽlled to emulate them. He expresses gratitude to his father, who is now a Lakers commentator, for being his “biggest believer.”
In 2014, he told the New York Times, “He’s always told me since I was about 17 that I could make the N.B.A. if I just stayed humble and worked hard.” He won’t cupcake me if I’m not acting appropriately. He is one of the bluntest persons you will ever encounter and will say it to you straight.
Over the years, Klay has also shown similar gratitude for his mother. In October 2022, when he received his fourth NBA championship ring, he sweetly acknowledged Julie.
Now that the vision had come true, he continued, “I just want to send a special shout-out to my mother.” “She couldn’t be here tonight, but I know she’s watching. Mom, you’re the best; thanks for everything. I cherish you.
Here is all there is to know about Julie and Mychal Thompson, the parents of Klay Thompson.
Mychal is also an NBA Champion
Mychal played in the NBA for several clubs between 1978 and 1991, enjoying a great career. Most notably, he spent four seasons playing for the Los Angeles Lakers alongside Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson, helping them to two back-to-back championships in 1987 and 1988, according to ESPN.
With four championship rings between them at the time, Klay captioned a photo of himself and his father holding the Larry O’Brien NBA Championship Trophy in 2017 with the emoji four rings.
While seeing Klay compete in his first NBA Championship, Mychal said in a 2015 Father’s Day video for the NBA: “seeing him is incredibly nerve-wracking. I’d rather be on the ground than up here, where I feel so useless, observing. Seeing your son achieve his dream is unmatched in its impact. Simply put, I’m extremely proud of him.
Mychal is a radio analyst and announcer
Before the 2003–2004 season, Mychal re-joined the Lakers organization after leaving the NBA, this time as a radio announcer. Before each home game, Klay, who was 14 at the time, reportedly got to shσt around on the Lakers floor.
Mychal is in his 20th season as a radio analyst for the Lakers, and his club is now playing his son’s team in the NBA playoffs in 2023. The Golden State Warriors player made a joke to reporters when asked who he believed his father would be supporting for: “If I had to guess, probably his employer.”
“I have so many wonderful memories,” the man continued, “of him watching the Lakers, Kobe, Shaq, and Pau [Gasol] play.” I’m just incredibly eager to take on the squad I grew up supporting.
Mychal was born in the Bahamas
According to the National Archives of the Bahamas, Mychal was born in Nassau, Bahamas, where he started playing basketball at the age of 16.
He frequently took his children to the island, and in March 2021, he told NBC Sports that this is why Klay loves the ocean so much. “Ever since he was a kid — going swimming, jumping in pools, jumping in lakes up in Oregon, jumping in the river… he was always fascinated and attracted to the water,” Mychael added. I believe it is a remnant of his Bahamian heritage.
Mychal predicted that Klay will definitely go even further with his love of the ocean after leaving the NBA. “Yeah. I’d be shocked. In a July 2021 interview with the magazine, Mychal added, “I’d be amαzed if he sticks around the NBA environment. He is really passionate about the ocean and his boat. I could picture him getting on a boat and simply touring the globe.
Becoming an elderly sea captain in the Bahamas and leading visitors on excursions, among other things, he said, laughing. I can imagine him carrying it out.
Mychal used to bring Klay to work with him at the Staples Center
Klay would be present when Mychal announced Lakers home games, and Kobe Bryant would give him guidance while Klay took shots on the court.
In July 2022, Mychal stated on “Willard & Dibs” on 95.7 The Game that it would make his job “easy” in terms of basketball. “Because I could bring him to the Staples Center and tell him, ‘There’s Kobe, go talk to him,’ Then, Klay and other up-and-coming basketball players like Klay would have a conversation with Kobe because he had the time and grace to do so.
He continued, “And he would tell them about the right way to approach the game, the right way to play, [and] to have passion for the game… when you have a legend, an icon like Kobe giving that type of advice, I could just sit back and relax a little bit, because he’s gonna listen to that guy probably more than he’s gonna listen to me.”
Julie was a collegiate athlete
The pair included more athletes than just Mychal. According to the Los Angeles Times, Julie was a standout volleyball and track and field athlete in high school. She first played Division 1 volleyball at the University of Portland before transferring to the University of San Francisco.
Mychal told the publication that his wife was “the best athlete in the family, and all the boys will tell you that.”
In 2011, shortly after joining the Warriors, Klay repeated the notion when he quipped to the Spokesman-Review in jest, “Our dad used to just loaf down the floor. Because of him, we are tall. But our mother gave us our athleticism.
Klay credits Julie for her guidance
On Mother’s Day in 2015, Klay posted a nice message to his Instagram account thanking his mother for her advice.
“Mom, happy Mother’s Day. With a throwback photo of her having Klay in her lap as a young boy, he wrote, “Without your mentorship along the road, I wouldn’t be the man or professional I am today.
Julie also offers him advice on clothing choices. Klay admitted that his mother chooses some of his outfits when ESPN questioned him about who on his team has the finest sense of style in 2019.
Andre [Iguodala], without a doubt. For us, my mother and his wife go shopping together. They have great style sense, he observed.