Nobody does Summer quite like Klay Thompson

It’s officially been over 700 days since Klay Thompson last played an NBA game. Warriors fans, along with the rest of the NBA world, desperately miss watching Thompson play competitively, but Klay has been blessing us with some quality entertainment off of the court—especially this summer.

Klay has always been a legend on social media, but this year, he’s kicked it up a notch. For most of the summer, Klay has been vibing on his boat in the Bay, where he’s gone live several times. We’ve seen Boat Klay jamming and singing to Drake, talking about his potential return to the court this coming season, and fishing. Steph Curry called Klay’s boat content “the best content in the world,” and it really is.

My personal favorite Boat Klay moment happened in early June, when Klay went back and forth from singing and talking about how he thinks he’ll play next season. While he was going live, someone asked Klay if he thought he could average 28 points a game, to which he responded, “Twenty-eight points per game?! That’s a lot, man. I’ll take some defense and a dub! Fifty, forty, ninety—that’s the goal.”

As much as Klay has vibed out on his boat this summer, it isn’t the only thing he’s been up to. Space Jam 2 was released on July 16, in which Klay was cast as Wet-Fire, a member of the Goon Squad.

Of course, the best part of Klay’s red carpet visit was the quotes. When asked about his thoughts on the red carpet event, Klay replied, "To be part of such a great film, a legacy film, I mean I just left my house, I watched the original to get psyched up for this red carpet walk, so it's pretty special."

His best quote of the night, though, came when he was asked who would win a game of one-on-one between LeBron James and Bugs Bunny: "LeBron is Mr. triple-double threat. He could do it on both sides of the ball. But Bugs Bunny has been doing it for a lot longer, maybe like 80 to 100 years now. LeBron's only been doing it professionally since what, '03?"

Klay won’t be a movie star forever, though, because his heart is set on the game. After tearing his achilles last year and being two years removed from a torn ACL in the same leg, Klay has a lot to prove on the court this year.

Right now, Klay’s ETA to return to the court appears to be around December or January, and his return is going to be monitored extremely closely by the Warriors’ coaching staff when it does happen. He’ll likely get his minutes limited to start out, just to make sure he stays healthy for the Warriors’ chase for the playoffs in March.

Even if Klay doesn’t play much to begin with, I don’t expect it to take long for him to get his rhythm. The great thing about the three-time champ and national treasure is that he’s one of the best shooters in the history of the league, and even Stephen A. Smith doesn’t think he gets enough credit for his elite abilities.

If Klay continues to stay healthy when he makes his return, I expect him to look very similar to 2019 Klay in the closing months of the season. Soon, he will be heading to the team facilities to start strengthening up his body, but he’s gotta return from Mexico first.

When number 11 finally hits the court this winter, it will be such a sight for sore eyes. If there’s one thing that Thompson knows how to do (other than shooting the rock), it’s how to enjoy life and truly be present in the moment. He’ll be enjoying life to the fullest when Warriors faithful are chanting his name this season and surely won’t be taking it for granted.

Once his playing days are over, though, expect NBA Klay to be living full time as Boat Klay, according to his dad.

"I'd be shocked if he sticks around the NBA scene," his father, Mychal, said this summer. "He's really into the ocean, really into his boat. I could see him getting on a boat and just sailing the world -- cruising the world.

"Becoming an old sea captain in The Bahamas, and taking tourists out for excursions and stuff. I could see him doing that. And if you've ever been to The Bahamas, you'll understand why he'd want to do it. It's the most beautiful sailing or boating water in the world.”

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