Jason Kidd reveals the story of how Kyrie Irving recruited Klay Thompson for the Mavericks

When it became clear that Klay Thompson was leaving the Golden State Warriors, many thought the Los Angeles Lakers would be the favorite to sign him. Thompson’s father, Mychal Thompson of Los Angeles, won two championships with the Lakers.

Thompson ultimately chose the Dallas Mavericks, but was reportedly heavily courted by Kyrie Irving.

In a recent episode of NBC Sports Bay Area’s “Dubs Talk” showMavericks head coach Jason Kidd revealed Irving’s involvement in Thomson’s recruitment.

“When you talk about recruiting, there were a lot of people involved,” Kidd said. “But one of the biggest players in that was (Irving). (Irving) was able to tell each player his experience of what Dallas was like for him over the two years, and he was able to tell Klay the honest truth about what he thought could happen when Klay comes to Dallas.”

Kidd added: “I’d like to say I did all of this myself, but I didn’t. It was a team effort. But I think player to player – in this league, everyone talks about their situation and recruits each other – this was about (Irving) and Klay being able to talk to each other.”

Thompson brings four championship-winning experiences to a Mavericks team that expects to compete for a title. Irving defeated Thompson and the Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals, so he also has championship experience.

Thompson is no longer the player he was during those championship runs, but he is still an elite shooter who should fit well alongside Irving and Luka Doncic on offense.

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