Klay Thompson’s father ‘disappointed’ his son left Lakers for Mavericks – NBC Sports Bay Area & California

Klay Thompson’s decision to leave the Warriors to sign with the Dallas Mavericks deeply hurts everyone involved.

On the other hand, Klay’s father Mychal is in the minority. The older Thompson is emotional like Steph Curry, Dub Nation, and NBA fans everywhere, but not because Klay left Golden State. Instead, Mychal is upset because Klay didn’t agree to join the Los Angeles Lakers for his next chapter.

Mychal, a former Laker, joined NBA Radio’s Frank Isola and Brian Scalabrine on “The Starting Lineup” Tuesday and explained why he wasn’t thrilled that Klay left Los Angeles to form a star-studded trio with Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving in Dallas.

“Congratulations, Frank and Scal,” Mychal said. “I’m not really in the mood to congratulate right now. Obviously, it’s Klay’s decision, it’s his life, he’s a grown man at 34. We were 34 at one time and our dads were giving us advice and we were choosing our own path. And that’s fine, that’s how life is supposed to be, but I’m really disappointed.”

“I was hoping, as you can see, that he would be a Lakers. It was close, it came down to the Lakers and the Mavs, but the Mavs won. But you know me, I was hoping and praying that he would finish his career with the Lakers.”

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“I don’t really feel like congratulating.”

Mychal Thompson hoped his son, Klay Thompson, would join the Lakers.@champagnennuts | @TheFrankIsola | @Scalabrine pic.twitter.com/8TH9bV3Ktw

— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) July 2, 2024

Mychal’s “disappointment” comes from his close ties to the Lakers franchise.

He played for Los Angeles for the last five seasons of his 14-year NBA career and was a two-time NBA champion with the “Showtime” Lakers. He is currently the Lakers’ radio host.

Mychal has nothing but good things to say about the Lakers – he’s probably in the minority on this one too – and has done his best to convince Klay to wear the Purple and Gold during the 2024-25 NBA season.

“When he told me the Lakers were talking to him, or were going to talk to him, and the Mavs were talking to him, obviously I tried to sell him on the idea of ​​playing for the Lakers,” Mychal added. “It’s the right thing for me to do and the appropriate thing to do.”

“And I felt like it was the right decision to make because I really believe in this franchise. It’s been very beneficial to me and my family, including Klay.”

It’s great that Mychal is proud to be associated with the Lakers. But as he mentioned, this whole decision-making process was in the hands of Klay, and Klay alone.

And when it came to choosing, the legendary Golden State guard felt Dallas fit his needs for the future better than Los Angeles.

Mychal believes he will eventually get over his son’s decision to become a free agent. However, he couldn’t help but reminisce about Klay in his youth and when the Thompson family was all about the City of Angels.

“He grew up a Lakers fan, (and) he grew up idolizing Kobe Bryant like most kids his age, so I thought it seemed like the perfect fit for him to come back home,” Mychal said. “We had always talked about him being a Lakers player if he wasn’t a Golden State Warrior. Of course, being a Kobe fan, he would have loved to play for the Lakers.

“But he had his chance, and when it came, he chose the Mavericks. I’ll live with that, I accept it and I’m happy for him that he’s happy with his decision, but of course, I tried to sell him on the Lakers.”

In assessing Klay’s departure, Warriors fans are probably glad he refused to be a Laker — and that has to count for something.

Mychal, meanwhile, will be disappointed for some time that his son chose not to follow in his father’s footsteps in Hollywood.

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