Kobe Bryant Praises Klay Thompson: “He Has The Whole Package”

Maybe agent Bill Duffy should send Kobe Bryant a care package? Duffy is currently stuck looking for a max deal for his client Klay Thompson, with the two sides $2-3 million apart with three weeks left to sign an extension. Kobe witnessed Klay first-hand during Golden State’s 120-105 preseason win last night at the Staples Center and had nothing but high praise for the young shooting guard after the game.

Klay scored 25 points in 25 minutes last night on 9-of-13 shooting from the field and 5-of-6 from downtown. While Kobe didn’t match up against him, Jeremy Lin and Wesley Johnson inherited that unenviable task, he can certainly appreciate Klay’s shooting exhibition.

Per Diamond Leung of the Oakland Tribune comes high praise from Mamba:

After Thompson poured in 25 points in three quarters of a 120-105 preseason win against the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday at Staples Center, Bryant noted that there weren’t many players in the NBA who can shoot, post up, go to his left and go to his right.

“He has the whole package,” Bryant said of Thompson, who grew up in Southern California idolizing the Lakers star.

Thompson was effusive in his praise of Bryant, cautioning, “I don’t know if I’m in his circle yet.

“I don’t have a championship. I don’t have an All-Star game under my belt,” Klay told Leung. “But yeah, it’s cool just to be known as one of the better shooting guards in the league to some people.”

Not just some people, but Kobe Bryant, the standard-bearer at the off-guard slot for the last decade and a half.

As Klay’s agent, Bill Duffy, bragged to USA Today this summer, he believes Thompson is the “best two-way, two-guard in basketball.”

But Duffy prefaced his braggadocio about his client by saying, “I don’t want Kobe Bryant to go crazy, but there’s some uncertainty as to who he is right now.” His comments came after back-to-back leg injuries knocked Bryant out of the 2013 NBA Playoffs and all but six games during the 2013-14 season. For Klay, though, Bryant is still the top progenitor at his position.

“It’s almost like a dream come true when I’m playing against him. Kobe’s still one of the best in the game, so you’re always trying to measure yourself against the greats,” Klay said after last night’s game.

Will Klay get a max deal before the deadline?

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