LA Lakers legend Jerry West had plenty of praise for Klay Thompson during a recent interview. West, who won the NBA Championship as a player back in 1972, went so far as to label Thompson as “the most underrated player in the league.”
Having joined the Golden State Warriors board in 2011, West was present when the franchise picked up Thompson in the 2011 NBA Draft. While the Warriors considered trading Thompson early on in his career, they eventually did not go through with this decision, much to West’s relief.
“Obviously, I’m a big fan of Klay Thompson,” explained West. “I think there were certain people that were of a different opinion because Kevin Love was an attractive player to have because of his ability to spread the court, his rebounding, his passing — he’s a good player.”
“But to me, the perfect player — and he wasn’t as far along in his career when this trade had been talked about — the perfect player for Steph was Klay. He never seeks the spotlight. He just plays the game. And he has gotten better and better, and frankly, he’s one of the most underrated players in the league who gets not as much love as he should get.”
