Klay Thompson is starting anew with his idol Kevin Durant as his teammate on the USA basketball team for the Rio Olympics next month, and as a member of the Warriors. Even though Klay Thompson is one of the NBA's best players, he's still apparently in awe of KD. This is not unlike Charles Barkley, who once admitted he couldn't sleep the entire night before his first NBA practice during his rookie year with the 76ers because he didn't know if he should greet Julius Erving as "Dr. J," "Julius," or simply "Doc."
Thompson told USA Today's Sam Amick that even though they will be sharing the same bench from now on, or at least the next season or two, Thompson really looks up to the 2014 NBA MVP:
"I think (going after Durant was) a no-brainer man, just because it's a once-in-a-generation kind of talent. It's history. There have never been two MVPs … under 30 (years old) on the same team, so it was a no-brainer just because he's such a great talent and he'd be such a pleasure to play with."
He added that he still gets "starstruck" like a little kid at a summer basketball camp in the presence of their favorite NBA player.
"I'm still in awe of the guy. I'm still kind of starstruck when I'm around him, like 'Man, that's Kevin Durant, you know? He's on our team. That's crazy.' You get to know him more. He's such a grounded individual. He's such a normal guy. He just loves basketball. He's actually a well-rounded person."
Now that they are on the same team, Klay doesn't have to worry about accomplishing the goal of dunking on his idol anymore.
