Klay Thompson’s Retirement Option Gets Aggressively Shut Down By US Sports Legend: “$150 Million Still Left To Make”

NFL legend and 2002 Superbowl Champion Keyshawn Johnson recently released another episode of his ‘All Facts No Breaks’ podcast. With his son Keyshawn Jr. joining in as co-host, the duo touched base on the world of basketball. They brought up Klay Thompson, asking the question of whether the player may choose to take his talents somewhere else next season. However, Johnson believed that the Golden State Warriors star’s decision was co-related to how far the Warriors would reach during the playoffs stage.

“When you have a team like this that can make a run in the playoffs and they don’t get bounced early, I think you see them come back,” said Johnson. “If they get bounced out of the play in, and they don’t make the playoffs…you could be seeing Klay Thompson in another uniform”. A rumor that has also been running rampant alongside the ‘Klay switching team’ one is he may very well choose to retire.

This was something that the former NFL star found completely unfathomable. “Dude got about a $150 Million still left to make and he got plenty of basketball”, Johnson continued. “Nobody retires”.

Klay Thompson had earlier signed a 5-year $189.9 million contract that is set to expire as soon as the ongoing NBA season ends. This would allow the player to list himself as a free agent or join any other team that would indulge him with a higher contract. While the player had earlier shown an interest in playing for the Bahamas National Team during the upcoming FIBA World Cup, he has not made any clear indications that the same would involve him bidding adieu to the NBA for good.

In fact, Thompson made it clear that when his time comes, he will be exiting with the same franchise that first gave him the opportunity to play in the big league 13 years ago.

Klay Thompson wants to retire with the Golden State Warriors

While there’s no exact timeline laid out for Klay Thompson’s retirement, he has accepted the fact that time is quickly slipping away. Back in February, Thompson’s stats were not as high as they are at the moment. This had shockingly resulted in the player being benched as the Warriors’ sixth man! When asked about the same, the four-time NBA champion expressed his faith in his team and himself, while making it clear that he would not be willing to play once he approaches a certain age.

“I would love to be a Warrior for life. Whatever happens though, I’ve got a few more years to play this game, so I’m gonna enjoy every second,” said Thompson. “I realize that I see light at the end of the tunnel, I’m not sure if I want to play until I’m 40, man. That sounds really exhausting.” Well, with that context, that’s another 5-6 more seasons of basketball till he reaches 40!

When talking about his own possible retirement, the Warriors’ leading scorer Stephen Curry strongly believed Klay Thomson, Draymond Green and himself would possibly choose to exit at the same time, citing their need to “end it the right way”. With none of the trio looking to slow down anytime soon, fans can be assured that the day that they will have to bid adieu to the Warriors’ core is not yet on the horizon.