Warriors Guard Klay Thompson Has Deep Connection with Portland

Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson has averaged 25 points per game against the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2019 Western Conference Finals matchup between the teams. As Kerry Eggers of the Portland Tribune details, those buckets are coming against a team Thompson used to follow, in an area to which he still has a deep connection.

The son of former Trail Blazers forward, and Portland broadcaster, Mychal Thompson, Klay grew up in the Portland area until his father took a position in Southern California covering Los Angeles teams. Eggers quotes the elder Thompson with his thoughts on the move and its effect on Klay:

“It broke my heart,” Mychal Thompson says from his home in Ladera Ranch, California. “The only regret about leaving Portland — other than it’s a great place to live — is I hated taking Klay away from Jesuit and the great friends he had.”

Klay discussed attending games in the Rose Garden and meeting famous NBA players of the 1990’s, including Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. He even had a favorite Trail Blazer:

“I was a big-time Blazer fan. Rasheed Wallace was my favorite player. I knew Rasheed and went to school with his son. We’re still friends. I have so many cousins, uncles and aunts living (in the Portland area). I have all my childhood friends. I love seeing them. It’s always fun going back and playing there.”

Eggers has far more about Thompson and his relationship with his father, the Warriors, and the northwest.