As several Bay Area fans were left contemplating that he would probably hit retirement in 2024, Klay Thompson finally cleared these speculations.
Arriving into the Golden State Warriors media room on Thursday, Thompson has only one thing to address with further conviction.
He won’t hang his basketball sneakers and walk away from hardwood in 2024.
“There’s a report out there . . . I have no intention of retiring in 2024,” Thompson said with annoyance.
“If you write some dumb s–t like that, just be held accountable,” he added. “That’s crazy. Just because I didn’t play 5-on-5 doesn’t mean I’m going to retire. That is absurd. That’s all I got to say.”
Thompson is referring to the statement by San Francisco Chronicle sports writer Connor Letourneau during his guesting on KNBR radio, wherein he expressed his opinion that the All-star guard could call it quits on the said year.
“The reality is that Klay does have two more years on his deal,” Letourneau said. “I personally would not be shocked if Klay just retired from basketball at the end of that contract.
“I don’t think it’s going to be between this season and next season. If he does retire in the near future it would be after his contract ends. He’s had no interest or desire to talk about extensions, even though he is extension eligible right now.”
Indeed, Thompson has two years left on the five-year, $189-million contract he inked with the Dubs brass back in July 2019. Though it remains yet to be seen if he’ll land an extension with them, that doesn’t mean he would shockingly walk away from the game as the contract expires.
Golden State continues to express their desire of retaining their dynastic core for years to come, and Thompson remaining with them is clearly a priority.
