Klay Thompson showed his respect for Kobe and Gigi Bryant during his ESPYs Award acceptance speech, and Vanessa Bryant thanked him. The Golden State Warriors guard won Best Comeback Athlete of the Year at Wednesday’s award ceremony.
The other nominees were Baltimore Orioles first baseman and outfielder Trey Mancini, Phoenix Mercury guard Diamond DeShields and Cincinatti Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow.
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Watch Klay Thompson win Best Comeback Athlete of the Year
In Thompson’s acceptable speech, the five-time All-Star said, “I don’t know if Vanessa is out there watching, but to Venessa and her three beautiful girls, we think of Kobe and Gigi every day.”
“I read Mamba Mentality every day during rehab and those are the best memories of my life, watching him play and he inspired me to be the athlete I am today.”
On Venessa’s Instagram page, she posted: “you’re a class act. Thank you for your support and love for Kobe, my Gigi and our family. Thank you for always including my Gigi when you think of Kob. Congratulations!”
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The guard played decent after recovering from an ACL injury
In the 2021-22 NBA season, in 32 games played, Klay Thompson averaged 20.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. Also, he averaged 42.9% from the field and 38.5% from 3-point range.
And in the Warriors’ 128-107 win over the Pelicans on Apr. 10, the guard scored a season-high 41 points in 31 minutes played. He shot 16-for-29 (55%) from the field.
Not to mention, Thompson helped the Warriors win their fourth NBA championship in eight years. During the playoffs last season, the nine-year veteran averaged 19 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game. The guard was arguably a better player down the stretch in the playoffs compared to the regular season.
In Game 5 of the 2022 NBA Finals against the Celtics, Klay Thompson joined teammate Stephen Curry and LeBron James as the only players in the history of the league to make a minimum of 100 3-pointers in the NBA Finals.
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