Steph details emotional phone call from Klay regarding his departure from the Warriors Originally appeared in NBC Bay Area Sports
Steph Curry never thought this would happen.
But on June 28, he received a call. He call.
It was his Splash Brother teammate, Klay Thompson, with whom he had spent the past 13 seasons terrorizing opposing defenses and winning four NBA titles as the Warriors. But the 15-minute phone call marked the beginning of the end of an era.
“It’s one of those things you never think you’d have that conversation about,” Curry said. Sam Amick of The Athletic on Sunday while at Team USA’s training camp in Las Vegas. “Even at the last moment, when I knew all signs were pointing to (Thompson and the Warriors) not finding a resolution on the contract, I was thinking, ‘Maybe it’s one of those things where he comes out and says, ‘Oh, we did it. ’”
“You kind of have that hope, but yeah, it was a tough decision. When you hear him openly talk about the reasons (for his decision) and how much he appreciated the friendship and being teammates and champions that we were, there are no words that really do it justice. I know it was tough for him. You try to stay as calm as possible on the phone, because you don’t want to be crying and going through that. There was a little bit (of tears), but it’s one of those things where I know when I see him in person, I’ll be able to convey that energy properly.”
They hung up the phone, and three days later the rest of the world was informed that Thompson was… is heading to the Dallas Mavericks as part of a sign-and-trade deal involving six teams, a agreement that was made official on Saturday.
The next day, Curry shared a long and heartbreaking tribute Thompson on her Instagram story followed by an emotional message.
Although it is a Emotional moment for Curry and Dub NationAs evidenced by the tears that streamed down his face during that call, the two-time NBA MVP wants his Splash Bro to be happy and is excited about Thompson’s fresh start with the Mavericks.
And when the time is right, Curry will give Thompson a proper sendoff to the Lone Star State sometime this offseason, when more tears can be expected.