The summer promises to be busy for Klay Thompsonwho will have to weigh the pros and cons between an extension at the Warriors, or a new adventure, in Orlando or elsewhere.
To spice things up, the Golden State shooter will also visit the Bahamas national team, which is preparing to begin its preparation for its Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Spain. The first rally will take place in Houston this week, and according to The Athletic, Klay Thompson would be there as a symbolic ambassador, or at best as a luxury “sparring partner”. World champion in 2014 and Olympic champion with Team USA in 2016, he could one day be granted an exemption by the American federation to one day wear the sky, black and yellow jersey.
But not immediately, since his priority remains the continuation that he will give to his career in the NBA, and FIBA has already given a big gift to the selection by allowing Eric Gordon to join her.
Deandre Ayton, Buddy Hield, Eric Gordon…
For now, Klay Thompson will therefore stick to a shadow role during this training before seeing the Bahamian selection fly to Greece to play two friendly matches against Montenegro and Greece on the 25th and 27th. next June, in order to be ready for the TQO in Valencia, from July 2. As a reminder, the Valencia TQO is made up of Spain, Angola, and Lebanon in pool A, and the Bahamas, Finland and Poland in pool B, and only the winner will validate their ticket for the Olympics from Paris.
Even though he has never played for the Bahamas, Klay Thompson is particularly close to the selection. Beyond the fact that his father, Mychal Thompson, was born there, the coach of the Bahamas is none other than Chris DeMarco, long-time assistant of the Warriors and close to the “Splash Brother”. His brother, Mychel Thompson is also part of the staff. Finally, it is its sponsor, “Anta Sports”, which is the official equipment supplier of the Bahamian selection.
As a reminder, the Bahamian selection has never been doing so well, led by NBAers Eric Gordon, Buddy Hield and Deandre Ayton, expected for the TQO, perhaps also with Kai Jones. It will be interesting to see how far this backbone can take the Bahamas in the Olympic qualifying tournament.
