Mychal Thompson, a teammate of Los Angeles Lakers star James Worthy in the 1980s, knows what Klay Thompson is going through.

In an article by Tim Kawakami of The Athletic, Mychal Thompson spoke about Klay Thompson in a particular way — not as a father of a son who is playing for a third straight NBA title with the Golden State Warriors, but as a member of a previous NBA dynasty with the Lakers who recalls what it was like to play in the shadow of icons.

Mychal Thompson told Kawakami about the Laker player from the 1980s who can very easily be compared to Klay Thompson:

“Yeah, James Worthy,” Mychal Thompson said. “He was playing with Magic and Kareem when Kareem was still Kareem. So Worthy was to me one of the greatest third options ever. And a lot of times, he was our first option. Worthy often gets overlooked, but he was one of the greatest to ever have played the game, it’s just that he played with Magic and Kareem.”

The James Worthy-Klay Thompson comparison needs very little explanation. Worthy played in the shadows of Magic and Kareem, while Klay plays in the shadows of Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. Even with Durant out of the Warriors' lineup, most NBA experts and people inside the Warrior organization would say that Draymond Green is the second most important member of the Dubs (behind Steph).

Klay is third… but that's not a knock on Klay. It is a reflection of how remarkably high Steph and Draymond set the bar — Steph as a transformative shooter, Dray as a revolutionary defender with unparalleled versatility.

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Yes, James Worthy produced 36 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists in a winning Game 7 of the 1988 NBA Finals for the Lakers against the Detroit Pistons. Klay will eventually join Worthy in the Basketball Hall of Fame, but Worthy made a larger imprint on the Lakers and was their second most important player (behind Magic) on that 1988 title team, when Kareem was slowing down. Klay hasn't been a top-two Warrior during this dynastic run… but that doesn't mean he hasn't been anything short of legendary, dynamic, and absolutely essential to this golden age for Golden State.

Klay Thompson's place in NBA history is complicated. His dad and many others understand why.