Mychal Thompson Gives Klay Thompson One Warning About Playing For Pat Riley And Erik Spoelstra
· Yahoo Sports
Mychal Thompson thinks his son, Klay Thompson, is the exact veteran that the Miami Heat should value. But he still gave one very important warning before he starts life under Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra.
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Speaking on 104.3 WQAM, Mychal explained Klay’s maturity, professionalism, and focus on winning, and that should make him a natural fit in the Heat’s very demanding environment.
“Klay is Pat Riley’s type of player. Very mature, very adult, only cares about winning. But I did warn him. I said, ‘Listen, son. I don’t know how other teams handle it, but you cannot be late. If you’re a Pat Riley player, you got to be on time. And being early—I should say, being on time is being late. You got to be early.”
“That’s the way Magic Johnson was, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was when I was with the Lakers. If practice was at 10 o’clock, they were there by 9:15, 9 o’clock, getting ready.”
“So that’s the main thing I told him, is I don’t know what kind of practices you had in Dallas or Golden State in terms of time. When you’re talking about Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra, you got to be an adult. You got to be a pro, and you got to be on time and work hard.”
“Just do those two things, and you’ll get along fine with Riley and Spo.”
Mychal knows Riley’s standards very well. He played with Riley for the Los Angeles Lakers and won championships in 1987 and 1988. He pointed to Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as examples of how seriously the Lakers teams treated preparation under Riley.
And Klay seems to have already made it clear that the Miami Heat’s reputation for discipline was part of the decision he made to come there.
After joining the Heat, Thompson said Heat culture is more than a slogan, and he raved about the organization’s conditioning standards, accountability, and championship expectations. At this stage of his career, he said he wanted an environment where it would push him physically and competitively, and that mindset should help him play much better.
The 36-year-old arrives in Miami after a very tough final season in Dallas, where his role changed and his production dropped, but still, he is one of the greatest shooters in NBA history, and he gives a Heat roster led by Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo badly needed floor spacing.
Mychal has already declared that the Heat’s season is championship or bust, and Klay is himself chasing a fifth ring.
For all the questions about how much Klay has left physically, his father was not worried about whether his personality would fit with Riley and Spoelstra.
He just wants him to follow the rules.