When you have a professional athlete for a father, every success the son has naturally gets credited to the Dad. After all, having an at-home trainer cum coach who knows the ins and outs of their respective field isn’t a luxury everyone can afford. But there is one group, an important one, that gets forgotten – the mothers. And according to the father of Klay Thompson, credit has to be given where it’s due.

Of course, we do write and talk a lot about everything the moms have done for the family, but the majority of credit goes to the fathers. “People give you and I a lot of credit,” Mychal Thompson said to Dell Curry in the ‘Raising Klay Thompson’ episode of Rasing Fame. “And I always say, it was Sonya and Julie. The mothers, they have to do all the work because they are there every day and we are out and about and doing our thing. The mothers have so much more responsibility than we have,” the former 2x NBA champion further added.

Much like Sonya Curry, Julie Thompson, Klay’s mom, was an exceptional volleyball player and a track athlete. Continuing her passions from high school to college, Julie played Division I volleyball as the star setter at the University of Portland before transferring to the University of San Francisco.

If she so decided, this stunning woman could have reached great heights. Instead, she opted to be the cheerleader. Perhaps cheerleader is too simple a word to describe Mama Thompson. For one, “She’s the best athlete in the family, and all the boys will tell you that,” per the former “Showtime” Laker. (credit: Los Angeles Times)

And secondly, Klay Thompson might have said this jokingly, but it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that it does hold a certain truth to it. “Our dad used to just loaf down the court. We got our height thanks to him. But our athleticism came from mom,” the 4x champion said in an interview with Spokesman-Review in 2011.

It sure must have! The three Thompson boys were encouraged to try various sports from a young age. Dad and Mom were careful not to force their choices on them. As such, Julie was flying all over town, driving her kids to baseball, soccer, basketball, and even gymnastics training centers. Yup, gymnastics!

Apparently, they were a little too fond of “jumping off of things.” But would that have been enough? She had to make sure they paid enough attention to academics, ensure each of their individual needs were met, etc. And more importantly, these were growing boys with incredible appetites. You know what that means, don’t you? Large meals.

Mychal Thompson couldn’t have put it better when he paid tribute to his wife. But she wasn’t the only one who was in the spotlight.

The ‘Splash Mother’ of Klay Thompson was also given her due flowers in a heartening tribute

While Julie Thompson prefers to stay out of the spotlight, Sonya Curry doesn’t shy away from the limelight. Then again, the Currys are “NBA royalty,” so there really isn’t much in the way of privacy that Mama Curry could get. Even so, more often than not, it is Dell Curry who gets the credit for the kind of achievements Stephen Curry has been able to accomplish.

And yet, from the moment Steph was born to taking care of things at home when her husband was away on games, Sonya has been nothing but patient. If you remember, Dell couldn’t be there for his firstborn’s birth. And to add to the stress of her first delivery, she was initially taken to the wrong hospital from where they were redirected to the right place.

So, it’s really no wonder that the Warriors superstar said this of his mother. “She deserves a lot of credit for how we turned out.” But her motherly duties didn’t end with Steph starting a family of his own. Or with him reaching ultimate superstar status. It simply got an upgrade. Even after four kids of his own, the 4x champion still reaches out to Sonya for a word of advice or to simply lend an ear.

In the words of Kevin Durant, mothers are truly the real MVPs!