Arguably the best reason for watching Wednesday night’s Chicago Bulls-Golden State Warriors telecast on NBC Sports Bay Area was the debut of Klay Thompson as a sideline reporter during the second quarter. (Regular reporter Kerith Burke got an in-game break, presumably.)
The Warriors sharpshooter is likely out for the 2019-20 season with an ACL injury, so he has some time to try something new while his teammates are playing. And NBC Sports Bay Area took the opportunity to try something potentially fun.
Anybody expecting Thompson to stand outside the Warriors huddle during timeouts and provide viewers with inside information or interview someone from the team might have been disappointed, however. “Reporter Klay,” as he was billed leading up to Wednesday’s game, sat at a table near the stands and players’ tunnel (maybe he can’t stand for too long with that knee injury), bantering with Bob Fitzgerald and Kelenna Azubuike on the broadcast.
This is the best of Klay Thompson as a sideline reporter 🎙😂
Enjoy. pic.twitter.com/0jpZI1SqmE
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 28, 2019
So “Reporter Klay” probably provided more analysis than any kind of reporting during his second-quarter stint, but he was entertaining during replays of dunks by Glenn Robinson III and Eric Paschall. Thompson also admitted getting nervous last Saturday night when the Bulls’ Zach Lavine nearly broke his record of 13 three-pointers made in a game.
But Thompson’s personality and sense of humor were best displayed when he was asked to rank his six bobbleheads. Great vibes, Surfer Klay. (Hardcore fans may not have liked that segment being done while the game was being played, but not that much action was missed. And Thompson was paying attention when Golden State’s Jordan Poole made an acrobatic layup.)
Even better for Warriors fan Martita Principessa, her engagement received an even bigger audience than on the scoreboard screen at Chase Center. The moment was shown on the telecast with Thompson providing congratulations to the happy couple. Hopefully, he pronounced that last name correctly.
