Getty/Ezra Shaw Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors asks the crowd to get fired up against the Detroit Pistons at Chase Center in San Francisco.
On February 5 at the St. Regis Hotel in San Francisco, the Warriors hosted their 8th annual Warriors Community Foundation Poker Tournament. Every dollar generated from the tournament went to non-profits that focuses on supporting education and youth development in the Bay Area.
The tournament raised $2.5 million that will go to the charities. Some prizes of the auction included a Kelley James guitar signed by Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green, and baked cookies by Ayesha Curry.
According to Yahoo’s Chris Haynes, the marquee item that was auctioned off was a dinner at Miller & Lux, Warriors courtside seats with owners Joe and Nicole Lacob were also among the auctions, and a special occasion with Thompson.
A boat outing with Thompson and his 37-foot fishing boat on the Bay was part of the package. Thompson, his dog Rocco, and his boat has been a popular sighting for fans while Thompson was away from the court. Two parties went back and forth on the bidding which upped the final auction price to $250,000. Half a million was raised for Thompson’s excursion after he agreed to do a second boat trip for the second-place bidder after they agreed to match the winning bid.
Thompson Picked Up New Hobby of Boats After Serious Injuries
During Thompson’s All-Star years, nobody would have guessed he would be such an avid boater. After Thompson tore his ACL in his left knee and then his right Achilles tendon, he realized he needed to pick up some new things to do since he could not play basketball.
“It’s been so good for my mental health,” Thompson tells Scott Cacciola of the New York Times. “When the days would get really tough, I would take a cruise into the city or toward Oakland or just be out in nature. It always helps.”
During the first couple months after Thompson tore his ACL, he was introduced to boating from Rex Thompson, a sports performance specialist working with Thompson on his rehab. The initial rehab process of any serious injuries is usually the toughest, because they are not allowed to do much like they were once accustomed to. Thompson got antsy and was looking for new things to do to take his mind off his rehab.
Fans and the media started to take notice when Thompson would do live streams on Instagram while he was out boating. He even bought teammates along for the ride. It got so serious to the point Thompson would even do all the cleaning for his boat.
Klay thinking back on the Finals while on a boat ☀️
“That’s my last taste of hoops, man. NBA Finals, I miss it.”
(via @KlayThompson)
“I fell in love with all the little things,” Thompson tells Cacciola, “whether it’s navigating, cleaning her, tidying her up — all the stuff you would never think of when driving a car.”
Klay Thompson Is Working Himself Back to His All-Star Form
After an impressive February where Thompson shot 45.6% from three, and averaged 19.3 points in 28 minutes, he has gone in a shooting slump. He was sidelined for two games with an illness, and has not been able to duplicate his February success since.
On March 10 against the Nuggets, Thompson shot 7-for-20 from the field. This would be his four straight game, where he failed to shoot 40% from the field.
“The only thing that I’m stressing with Klay right now is to just get great shots,” Kerr said after the March 10 matinee against the Nuggets. “If he’s not open, to move it on. I think we’ve really tried to give Klay a lot of freedom in his comeback, just to be able to feel the game.”
This should not be too surprising with Thompson’s shooting track record. A source within the Warriors told Heavy.com’s Sean Deveney that the team is not too worried with the sharpshooter. After missing the better part of three years, just having Thompson back on the court healthy should be considered a success for now.