Klay Thompson joined the Dallas Mavericks this season seeking a fresh start, aiming to rediscover his best form in the NBA. He arrived at a team led by two of the league’s brightest stars, Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic, and recently praised the Slovenian guard, recalling a memorable story involving NBA legend Kobe Bryant.
“Kobe was one of the most intelligent athletes to ever grace this earth,” Thompson said during a press conference on Monday night. “That’s the first thing I told Luka (Doncic) when we met. I was like, ‘Man, I knew you were gonna be special’ because he brought Kobe out of the house to go watch him play.”
Reflecting on Bryant’s recognition of Doncic’s talent, Klay added: “Kobe doesn’t just give that love to those who don’t earn it. So, that was a cool moment, because it’s cool to see him in retirement give Luka that kind of love.”
The encounter between Kobe and Luka
Klay Thompson was referencing a memorable encounter between Doncic and Bryant during a 2019 game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers. It was during this matchup that Luka, in just his second NBA season, had the chance to experience Kobe’s trash-talking firsthand.
“He said some bad words in my language,” Luka recalled during an interview with Inside the NBA. “I was like, ‘who’s that speaking in my language?’ and it was Kobe! It was something amazing that I will never forget. After the game I came and took a picture with him. He was one of the guys I always looked up to. I will never forget it.”
For Bryant to have acknowledged Luka’s potential so early in his career speaks volumes about the Lakers legend’s basketball IQ. Tragically, Bryant passed away just weeks after this encounter in a helicopter crash that also claimed the lives of his daughter Gianna and seven others, so he never got to witness Doncic’s growth in the league.
Thompson reflects on Kobe’s influence
During the same press conference, Klay Thompson took a moment to reflect on what Kobe Bryant meant to him personally. “Ask anybody who was born around the time I was, and he was like our Michael Jordan,” the Mavs player said. “His style of play and his influence on the game on a global scale, it’s something that is probably only second to Michael.”
He continued: “My memories of Kobe are very fond… I think about him and Gigi every day. So it’s still crazy to think that he’s not here, and I can go on and on about him because he meant so much to my basketball journey.”