Klay Thompson bleeds blue and yellow now, but he actually grew up in Southern California as a Lakers fan and the late great Kobe Bryant was his inspiration.
Because of this, the Warriors playoff series against the Lakers is made even more significant for the sharp shooter.
Thompson has waited 12 years to face LA in the playoffs and said it was a “dream come true” that he finally gets to play the storied franchise.
Klay explained how much it will mean to him to play at Crypto.com arena on Saturday and said that he’s going to play his hardest to honor Kobe and his daughter Gigi Bryant.
“Just from a life standpoint, it’s such an incredible experience to play in front of my friends and family,” Thompson said.
“I mean, I would go to Staples as a high school basketball player with my pops, just dreaming of playing on that floor, playing against the best in the world. Now to be here and be a part of it, I don’t lose sight of that perspective of how great this opportunity is, and I’m just excited to do it in a building where all my hoop dreams came about. So, I have so much respect for just the opportunity ahead for me, and I’m a huge Kobe fan, obviously. He was my biggest inspiration. And I’m just gonna play my hardest just to honestly honor him and Gigi ’cause without his play and all those years of me viewing his tenacity on the court, I would not be the athlete I am today.”
Game 3 of the Warriors v Lakers series will take place on Saturday, 6th May at 5:30PM PT in LA.
The series is tied 1-1 so both teams will get a chance to take a lead and Thompson will be looking to emulate his Game 2, 30-point performance.
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