Klay Thompson and his family spoke to Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher about his upbringing and its role in who he’s become. In the piece, Thompson discussed how personally invested he is in the Golden State Warriors’ success:
“I was part of building this culture. It wouldn’t be leaving everything I worked for behind, but it would be a whole new start. I was one of the pioneers of this. I’m one of the longest-tenured players here besides Steph, so I’m very prideful of the turnaround the Warriors have made. Just because I’m not the face of the franchise doesn’t mean I’m not recognized for it. Real fans and the people in the organization and my peers around the league, they see the work I’ve put in and realize I’ve been a huge component to the success here for the last five, six, seven years, so I have an identity here. It would be hard for me to envision going anywhere else.”
When Thompson was drafted by the Warriors, he joined a squad that was coming off three straight losing seasons. Success wasn’t immediate, either–his squad mustered up only 23 wins his rookie year.
As Thompson noted, he’s not the face of the Warriors; however, he’s been a member of two championship teams, and that’s what keeps him happy, according to his uncle, John Leslie:
“It’s all about winning for him. Even now, I don’t think he’d be happy scoring 25 for some team and squeaking into the playoffs.”
