Following the Golden State Warriors’ laughably-easy 110-77 Game 2 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals, Klay Thompson jokingly stated that his squad is better than the legendary “Showtime” Los Angeles Lakers that dominated the League during the 1980s.
Green on best team ever: "How can u say we're better than the Showtime Lakers?"
Klay interrupts: "We ARE better than the Showtime Lakers!"😂
— SLAM Magazine (@SLAMonline) June 6, 2016
Klay’s old man, Mychal, played with Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on those stacked Purple and Gold teams and says they wouldn’t have been to stop these 73-win Dubs.
I disagree with Mychal Thompson and his son Klay, my "Showtime" Lakers would beat the Warriors.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) June 7, 2016
The elder Thompson gives the Warriors the edge due to their otherwordly three-point shooting.
Thompson: “I admit this. We would shoot. And we shot 8 threes a game. They make 8 threes a quarter. Golden State would outscore us 50 to 15 on threes. So how are we supposed to win? So I agree with Klay, I think they would beat us. We couldn’t keep up with them offensively because of the way they can score so quickly.”
Thompson: “I am a man secure in my legacy, secure in my accomplishments. I don’t have to be all ‘Oh we’re better than them.’ I’m not that grumpy old man even though I sound like that many a time. But I can admit when the new era is better than something else or that’s changed from the time I played. And the way they play. We would have a hard time keeping up cause like I said, our game wasn’t shooting threes, which theirs are. And three beats two. Doesn’t it Trudell? You went to Northwestern, you were a math major. Doesn’t that add up?”
Thompson: “I’m not going sit up there and say ‘We’re so great, we could be anybody.’ No, of course we could lose to these Warriors or lose to Michael Jordan’s Bulls when Kareem was playing. Of course we can. It’s called sports. If we played the warriors in a seven game series I wouldn’t be shocked if they beat us. I moved my feet very well for a big man as I compliment myself. But when I think about switching out on Steph Curry, I break out in hives. I grew up on an island, talk about being isolated on an island stuck out there with him as he does his little dance. I would hate that.”
