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Klay Thompson’s Newspaper Pregame Ritual

Most professional athletes have some kind of pregrame ritual. Some rituals are stranger than others, some are normal, some are spiritual. Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson was guest at ‘The Jump’ last year, and one of the things he talked about was his pregame ritual, which involves newspapers.

Before every game, Klay is reading the newspaper. He started doing so, when his mother suggested it to him.

“I just think, especially my generation, we’re on our phones so much, all the time, even me, I’m a bad culprit of it, that my mom actually suggested this to me. She said, ‘Klay, instead of standing at your phone pregame all the time, why don’t you get a newspaper or a book and read that before a game, try to take your mind off things.’

“I was like, ‘Mom, that’s a great idea.’

“So I started reading the sports section … I like reading the sports section about high school hoops or college basketball, and just like that old school feel. I like to feel the newspaper, so shoutout to my mom for helping me with my pregame ritual.”

 

Now, during Stephen Curry’s interview with Jalen Brown on ESPN, the ritual was confirmed by Steph, who said:

“Klay Thompson for sure. When he walks in the locker room, he’s got the local newspaper sitting on his chair, and it’ll take him about 30 minutes when he gets into the arena, catch up on current events, get his mind right and just be in his own world.”