While Klay Thompson won’t be playing for Team USA at the 2024 Olympics, he will at least be at one team’s training camp.
According to Shams Charania and Anthony Slater of The Athletic, the Golden State Warriors guard will join the Bahamian national basketball team for training camp “this week.” However, Charania and Slater noted that Thompson is “not expected” to get clearance to participate in Olympic qualifying games.
The 34-year-old previously won a gold medal during the 2016 Olympics on Team USA.
Thompson previously discussed his desire to play for the Bahamas in Oct. 2023, citing his father’s native country. His dad, Mychal Thompson, played 935 games in the NBA from 1978 to 1991 and won two championships as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers.
“That’d be cool, because my dad never got the opportunity,” the younger Thompson said ahead of the 2023-24 season, per Janie McCauley of the Associated Press.
“The Bahamas is a place where my story cannot be told without it,” he added. “It’s dear to my heart, so yeah, that would be sweet.”
Thompson has succeeded in past international competitions, combining to score 34 points on 48.1 percent shooting during Team USA’s final two games of the 2016 Olympics which included a 6-of-14 mark from behind the arc.
However, his path towards officially joining the Bahamian team is tricky. Thompson needs to be released by USA Basketball and he also requires FIBA’s approval in order to be cleared to play in the qualifiers and further competition for Team Bahamas (h/t Charania and Slater).
Thompson will also be busy throughout the offseason due to his impending free agency, as his future with the Warriors is far from a certainty. He’s slated to hit unrestricted free agency on June 30, with the Olympic qualifying tournament in Spain beginning on July 2.