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Kendra Andrews, ESPN
As the Golden State Warriors welcome Klay Thompson back to San Francisco on Nov. 12, they plan to honor the four-time champion with a special “Salute Captain Klay” night.
Golden State will hand out a captain’s hat to 18,064 fans, a nod to Thompson’s passion for boating and how he would often commute to the Chase Center by boat.
Now with the Dallas Mavericks, Thompson will be introduced as their fifth starter during the game in San Francisco — the first NBA Cup game for either team. Before Thompson’s introduction, the Warriors will play a minute-long tribute video. Before tipoff, Stephen Curry will take center court to say a few words.
“It’ll be emotional and strange. When you hear Klay Thompson announced, but he’s not running out through our line of guys, it’s going to be a different night for us and him,” Warriors president and chief operating officer Brandon Schneider said.
The Warriors started brainstorming ideas to help welcome Thomspon back during the summer. Schneider remembers initiating the first round of conversations of how they’d honor the five-time All-Star before the NBA schedule was released.
The idea of the captain’s hat was decided about two months ago, as they wanted to do something more than just a video and more meaningful than a T-shirt or bobblehead giveaway.
“We think it will be a cool moment to collectively tip our hat to captain Klay Thompson,” Schneider said.