Golden State Warriors veteran Klay Thompson decided to pay tribute to a former Dallas Cowboys player named Gavin Escobar. As we approach the final stretch of games this NBA season, several teams are fighting for a spot in the NBA postseason and to ideally avoid the play-in tournament.
The 2022 defending champions are one of those teams. They have been somewhat struggling this season and currently hold a record of 38 wins and 36 losses. Thomspon did play a role in his team securing a win over Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks. However, his head might not have been completely in this game.
That said, let us take a closer look at how Klay Thompson decided to pay homage to the former NFL player and more about their relationship.
Klay Thompson wore Gavin Escobar’s jersey heading into a game against the Dallas Mavericks
Despite being professionals in different sports, it turns out that Klay Thompson and Gavin Escobar were quite close friends and had a personal relationship with each other. Therefore, it certainly makes sense that the former NFL star’s death took a toll on Thompson.
In fact, it would be fair to say that they have known each other longer than most teammates. After all, both of them are from the same locality in California called Rancho Santa Margarita. Additionally, they were also in the same high school named Santa Margarita Catholic High School, which is where their friendship was presumed to start.
As some sports fans might be aware, Gavin, unfortunately, passed away on September 28, 2022. This was truly tragic considering that he was only 31 years old at the time and still undoubtedly had a lot of life left to live. To those who do not know, Escobar died during a rock climbing accident alongside a 33-year-old woman called Chelsea Wash.
Klay knew that Gavin had a close connection to the city of Dallas, where he played for the Cowboys. Therefore, he adorned Escobar’s jersey with the number 89 when heading into the game. This was a way for him to pay tribute and show homage to his old friend.
Klay arrived at tonight’s game in Dallas repping the number 89 in honor of his friend Gavin Escobar.
Gavin played four seasons as Tight End for the Cowboys during his NFL career. A native of Klay’s hometown of Rancho Santa Margarita, he tragically passed away last fall. pic.twitter.com/zWtvcOlsyE
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) March 22, 2023
Perhaps the loss also impacted Thompson’s game that night. While his team managed to defeat Luka Doncic and the Mavericks, Klay only scored 9 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 assist in 35 minutes of playing time. Some fans chose to criticize his performance despite his team winning. Perhaps if they knew what was on his mind, they might not have done so.