Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant captivated everyone with his on-court exploits and managed to leave a lasting impact on the next generation of basketball stars. Many players grew up watching and idolizing the five-time NBA champion, including Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson. Recently, the five-time NBA All-Star, who grew up a massive Lakers fan, revealed he wants to be at his best in Game 3 of their series against the LeBron James-led Lakers in honor of his idol.

The boyhood Lakers fan is facing the LA team in the postseason for the first time in his career. The Lakers triumphed over the Warriors in Game 1. However, the Warriors won Game 2 by a wide margin and tied their Western Conference Semifinals series at 1-1 on the back of a massive performance by Big Smokey.

Klay wants to commemorate Kobe Bryant by being at his best against the Lakers

Mychal, Thompson’s father, played for the Los Angeles Lakers for four years and won two championships alongside the ‘Showtime Lakers’. Mychal is currently the radio color commentator for the Purple and Gold. Growing up in LA, Klay attended many Lakers games and loves the city and the organization. In a post-game interview after the Game 2 win, a reporter asked the Warriors guard about his thoughts on playing in Crypto.com Arena in the Playoffs against the Lakers.

The 33-year-old said, “I’m going to be myself. I’m going to play hard on both ends. I’m going to hunt great shots.” He added that it would be incredible to play in front of his friends and family as he used to dream of playing in Crypto.com Arena, formerly known as the Staples Center while growing up. He added, “I’m just excited to do it in a building where all my hoop dreams came out.”

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The four-time NBA champion further revealed that he has immense respect for the opportunity ahead of him. The Warriors guard said, “I’m a huge Kobe fan, he’s my biggest inspiration and I’m just going to play my hardest to honestly honor him and Gigi because without his play and all those years of me viewing his tenacity on the court, I would not be the athlete I am today.”

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Golden State Warriors‘ next two games are in Los Angeles and it would be interesting to see if Thompson could commemorate his idol by showing up big in Game 3 and Game 4, just like last night.

Thompson’s magical performance in Game 2 against LeBron James and co.

Stephen Curry, who is the centerpiece of the Warriors, often shows up big for his team. However, he didn’t have to do much work last night. Thompson took care of everything. The five-time All-Star was certainly the best player on the court. He wrapped up the 127-100 win over the Lakers with 30 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 assist.

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Thompson is currently in hot form and if he continues playing like this, the Lakers would have trouble stopping him. Who do you think would win Game 3 between the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday? Will Klay make Kobe Bryant proud? Let us know in the comments below.