During the Showtime era, Mychal Thompson won two championships in four NBA Finals appearances with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Thirty years later, his son Klay Thompson recently won his third championship in four consecutive NBA Finals appearances with the Golden State Warriors — all against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
As only the fourth father-son duo to win a championship and second to win at least two championships in league history since Bill Walton and Luke Walton, there is a special bond between the two.
With the eldest Thompson attending his son’s parade for the second consecutive year, the 63-year-old compared the two fanbases, according to Mark Medina of The Mercury News:
“I’ve never seen that before. That’s pretty cool. That’s pretty awesome,” said Mychal Thompson, the former Showtime Laker that has attended championship parades as both a player (1987, 1988) and a proud father (2015, 2017, 2018). “Just to see the love the fans have for the Warriors, they remind me of Lakers fans with how loyal they are and how much passion they have for their team.”
As the Warriors have established themselves as the league’s new dynasty, the Lakers are trying to dethrone them heading into the 2018-19 NBA season. With a young core and ample cap space to sign two max-contract players, things could get interesting between the two fanbases if the Lakers land LeBron James and Paul George.
If the Lakers are unsuccessful this summer, they will preserve cap space for 2019 free agency, which features Thompson. However, the 28-year-old has expressed numerous times his desire to remain with the Warriors, which is unfortunate news for his father’s former team.
As part of our efforts to help you understand how we handle the personal information you share with us, and in preparation for the new European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), we’ve updated our Privacy & Cookies Policy. The updated Privacy & Cookies Policy will take effect on May 22, 2018. By using our services on or after that date, you’ll be agreeing to our updated Privacy & Cookies Policy. We recommend that you read our updated Privacy & Cookies Policy in full.