Klay Thompson may play for unexpected team at 2024 Olympics
Jun 5, 2022; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) warms up before game two of the 2022 NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
Despite having done so in previous years, Klay Thompson may no longer be competing under Old Glory in 2024.
The Golden State Warriors star spoke with reporters this week in the Philippines as part of the ANTA Squad Asia Tour 2023 (Thompson’s shoe endorsement deal is with ANTA). During the interview, Thompson revealed he is considering playing for The Bahamas, possibly at next year’s Olympic Games in Paris. Thompson’s father Mychal is of Bahamian descent, and his older brother Mychel is now coaching for The Bahamas’ national team too.
“When that time comes, I will give it serious consideration just because of what The Bahamas meant to the Thompson family, especially my father,” said Thompson, per TalkBasket. “[My father] never had a chance to play for the national team because they just didn’t have the chance back in the ’70s or the ’80s.
“Now my brother is coaching with them which is also very cool,” Thompson added. “But right now, I’m really focused on the [coming NBA] season. But when that time comes next summer, I’ll give it consideration.”
The Bahamas’ already-solid team figures to be a selling point for Thompson as well. Led by fellow NBAers Eric Gordon, Deandre Ayton, and Buddy Hield, they just smashed through the competition at the Olympic Pre-Qualifiers of the Americas earlier this month to advance to the official Olympic qualifying tournament next summer. That could be a historic moment for The Bahamas, whose men’s basketball squad has never qualified for either the Olympics or the FIBA World Cup.
As for Thompson, he has won multiple gold medals competing for the United States on the international stage (at the 2016 Tokyo Olympics and the 2014 FIBA World Cup). But at 33 going on 34, Thompson could now be shaking things up, giving us another big will-he-or-won’t he storyline ahead of the Paris Games.
H/T NBA Reddit
