“Absolute Clip”: Klay Thompson Celebrates Portland’s WNBA Return, as Damian Lillard Ownership Rumors Swirl

The Golden State Warriors might be mourning over Klay Thompson‘s exit, but the swingman is having his best summer. After a drama-filled split from the franchise he spent 13 years, the guard is all set to form a Big 3 at the Mavericks. With still a few days left in hand, Thompson was scrolling through his Instagram feed when he came across a spectacular WNBA news that he couldn’t help but share with his 17.1 million fans on the platform.

While the discussions regarding NBA expansion have recently been put on hold, the WNBA has taken a giant stride towards it. The decision was made public on Wednesday by the league that a brand new team will emerge in Portland. Thrilled to see the post by Portland Thorns, Thompson shared on his IG story with the caption, “This is so cool, Jackie Stiles was really HER back in the day. ABSOLUTELY CLIP!👌🏼💦”

The new team will be under Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal of RAJ Capital. The Portland Thorns FC will have its new home will be at Moda Center, where a grand event was organized on the same day to make the announcements in front of 300 attendees. Amid all this, rumors picked up after Evan Turner tweeted asking Damian Lillard to appoint him as the GM of the franchise, in case he bought it. This speculation was squashed on Wednesday when the announcement was made as there was no sign of Lillard in the owner’s information. The Bucks star has obvious connections with Portland, spending 10 seasons with the Blazers but never showed interest in actively purchasing a WNBA team. But nevertheless, Lillard shared the emotion for Portland just like Thompson.

If you have been following the WNBA for over a decade, then you would recall that the city had a team called the Portland Fire back in the 2000s. As Thompson mentioned in his story, the Mavs star reminisced about Jackie Stiles, who started her WNBA career with the Portland franchise in 2001. She impressed the hoops community with her outstanding potential and bagged the Rookie of the Year title. In a short period, both the team and Stiles had acquired several fans. However, in 2002, due to a financial crisis, the owner, Paul Allen, had to call it quits. But finally, two decades later, there is good news for the Oregon residents, as now they’ll be able to see their new team from 2026 and so will Thompson who has a special tie with the place.

Klay Thompson’s special connection with Portland

At the age of two, Klay Thompson and his family moved from Los Angeles to settle in Lake Oswego, Oregon. From the time he gained awareness, he regarded Portland as his home. Little Klay did his schooling from there and made many close friends, including NBA Star Kevin Love. But little did Klay know, he would have to leave everything behind him someday.

When Klay was 14, his parents took him and his brothers to Ladera Ranch, California, where he had to start over again. Klay’s father and former NBA player, Mychal Thompson later stated as per Portland Tribune, “The only regret about leaving Portland — other than it’s a great place to live — is I hated taking Klay away from Jesuit and the great friends he had.”

Klay Thompson too has been vocal about rooting for the Trail Blazers as a child because of his roots. The new WNBA team will certainly bring more joy to him as he will no longer have to secretly support their Western Conference rivals in the NBA.