Still two weeks to wait before seeing Klay Thompson enjoy passes from Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic. Already there, the former Warriors shooter is participating this weekend in the traditional tennis tournament organized by Dirk Nowitzki. “It’s a great opportunity to be part of this event and get acquainted with everything that goes on,” Thompson explains about the event. “I grew up watching Dirk and Steve [Nash]so I have a lot of respect for them. I just wanted to get a feel for the city, and it's fun to be here. Tennis is a great sport. I'm looking forward to playing today and hopefully I can hit some nice shots.”
Water activities to get to know each other
At the same time, to meet his new teammates, Thompson invited them on his boat to take them to Catalina Island. “I had the pleasure of getting to know the guys,” Thompson confirms. “I just wanted to do something nice for them and take them to one of my favorite places, Catalina Island. We had a great trip; the water was beautiful that day, the sun was out and it was awesome. We did a lot of cool stuff, whether it was diving off the boat, jet skiing or just swimming to shore. It was a beautiful day, and I think those moments with teammates are the ones you cherish for the rest of your life. Now it’s start time, so we don’t have as much free time to do that, but I’ll cherish that memory forever. That’s the beauty of being a veteran: trying to show the younger guys a different side of life that you don’t get to see once the season starts. It was really, really fun.”
An example to follow: Dallas 2011
Thompson joins a team that is still on the NBA Finals, and for him, this franchise has a DNA that is transmitted from team to team. He remembers the championship team in 2011, against the Heat of the “Three Amigos”, and he has watched montages of that final.
“I saw excellent cohesion within the team” he judges about the 2011 NBA champions. “It was an incredible group that hung in there despite being at a disadvantage and beat incredibly talented teams, whether it was Kobe’s Lakers, KD’s Thunder or even the Miami Heat. It was an inspiring run and it was awesome to watch. I’m going to try to replicate that next season.”
