Klay Thompson willing to consider playing for Bahamas in 2024 Olympics to complete his father's unachieved dream: “He never had a chance to play"

Klay Thompson has earned a reputation as one of the greatest shooters in NBA history throughout his career. Between his four championships with the Golden State Warriors, his FIBA World Cup win in 2014, and his 2016 gold medal, Thompson has done it all.

When looking at his full body of work throughout his eleven-year career, it's clear that he'll be a first-ballot Hall of Famer when the time comes. Despite that, there's one thing that Thompson wants to do before all is said and done - fulfill one of his father's wishes.

Mychal Thompson, Klay Thompson's father, spent 13 seasons in the league, competing for the Portland Trail Blazers, as well as the LA Lakers. In addition, the NBA veteran captured two championships with the Lakers in 1986, and 1987.

According to the future Hall of Famer, who spoke during a recent stop at the ANTA World Tour in the Philippines, he may break away from Team USA. Although he has competed for the nation in the past, he plans to give serious consideration to playing for the Bahamas.

While speaking to TalkBasket in the Philippines, Klay Thompson stated:

“When that time comes, I will give it serious consideration just because of what The Bahamas meant to the Thompson family, especially my father. He 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 [Mychel] is coaching with them which is also very cool. But right now, I’m really focused on the [upcoming 2023-24 NBA] season. But when that time comes next summer, I’ll give it consideration.”

Looking at Bahamas growth and how it could sway Klay Thompson

Unfortunately for Team Bahamas, they came up short of qualifying for the 2023 FIBA World Cup in Group C. In the qualifying stage, the team finished in third place behind Canada, the Dominican Republic, and ahead of the Virgin Islands.

With a 2-4 record, and a -82 point differential, the team saw its FIBA World Cup dreams come to an end. Despite all those setbacks, Klay Thompson was impressed by the performance of the Bahamas team.

While they came up short, they did capture a big win over No. 4 ranked Argentina, marking the biggest win in the country's history.

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“When it comes to the Bahamian basketball, I couldn’t be more proud of what they’ve accomplished in the past few weeks especially Chris De Marco, Buddy Hield, Deandre Ayton, Eric Gordon, and the rest of the Bahamians.” Thompson said.

Given that a number of NBA standouts, including Deandre Ayton and Eric Gordon, competed for the team, it's safe to say the addition of Klay Thompson would be huge. Whether or not he winds up making the decision to compete for the team in the 2024 Olympics, only time will tell.

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