Five reasons why we love Warriors’ Klay Thompson

We know who Klay Thompson is on the court. Thompson is a man of many accomplishments. He’s a three-time all-star, two-time all-nba team, three-point contest champion, and most importantly, a two-time NBA champion.

He has one of, if not the prettiest, shooting forms in the game. If Steph Curry is peanut butter, Klay Thompson is his jelly. They go well together and they compliment each other’s skills on the court.

However, I’m not here to talk about Klay Thompson’s skills on court. That can be debated and deconstructed in another post. I want to talk about the many other elements that make Thompson just a great person to root for.

Thompson portrays an image of a normal guy, even with all the media attention the team gets. He’s unintentionally hilarious and easily the most quotable player on the team during post game interviews.

So, I broke down some of the many reasons we love Thompson:

1. He took a nation by storm and became an international legend

Much has been documented and shared about the legend of China Klay. So, I won’t go into all the details. Basically, he spent some time in China this past summer as part of his basketball tour with Anta (the shoe brand he endorses) and had a collection of funny moments making him an internet sensation this past off-season. In the Bay Area we probably watch the clips and laugh at it, but China might see Thompson as some sort of demigod.

Kobe Bryant and the Lakers have long been idolized in Asia. Thompson is slowly planting seeds by converting those Lakers fans into Warriors fans in the present and for generations to come.

The globalization of basketball is important for the long term success of the NBA. Who knows what sort of epic stories people will tell their children of the legend of China Klay.

2. He inspires people to be just like him

In the home opener Big Daws from YouTube dressed up as a Klay Thompson impersonator and sat behind the Warriors bench. It was absolutely hilarious and provided something positive after a disappointing finish to that game.

The players and coaches got a kick out it and maybe this will inspire other player impersonators at home games. It’s fun for the crowd and adds another element to the game-day experience.

3. Zaza Pachulia and Klay Thompson make for an odd couple but it’s perfect

Thompson and Pachulia have been seen hanging out on multiple occasions during the team’s days off. They share a unique sort of bromance and make for a fairly odd couple. Their odd pairing would make for the perfect buddy cop movie.

Then there was this great moment where Pachulia let Thompson know when he made history and outscored him. Thompson is an easy going guy with a mild ego, so it’s easy to poke fun at him without a worry. This probably doesn’t pass if he did something like this to Kevin Durant or Draymond Green.

4. He is a humanitarian

Sometimes we forget how much our athletes impact our respective communities with the time and money that they invest. This may be the biggest reason to love Thompson and what inspired me to write this. With the recent fires in the North Bay that destroyed many homes and left people with nothing more than the clothes on their back, the community needed help.

From the time Thompson was drafted by the Warriors, he has adopted the Bay Area as his new home. The relationship we share with our athletes is a two way relationship. We support them by tuning in and going to games and they support us through their many charitable efforts (not to mention bringing parades downtown).

For the next few home games, Thompson’s on-court production will be turned into a humanitarian effort. Now we have more reason to root for Thompson this home stand. Also, note that you too can make a difference and add a pledge per point in the link attached in the tweet above. Also the link is here: https://pledgeit.org/klay

It’s a great way to get involved and help a community that needs assistance. I know I’ll be rooting pretty hard for Thompson during this home stand.

5. He is an avid lover of our furry friends

The saying goes: a dog is man’s best friend, or is Thompson a dog’s best friend? A video surfaced this past summer of Thompson shooting around with a dog in the Lakers’ practice facility. One thing both Thompson and dogs have in common: ball is life. Let me remind you that the dog in the video provided some elite defense on Thompson and kept barking at him while he was following through with his shot. The dog held Thompson to a missed shot. It’s stuff like this that build his nerves of steel.

Thompson is just a low-key guy who wants to shoot hoops and spend time with his best bud, Rocco. Is that too much to ask for in life?

Most of all, Thompson is the ultimate teammate. He doesn’t demand to be treated like a superstar even though he possess elite talent on both ends of the court. Thompson doesn’t complain or throw his team under the bus. Having been in many trade rumors over the years, some that were nearly executed, he doesn’t let the business side of basketball tarnish his love for the team. Don’t ever change Klay Thompson, don’t ever change.