Klay Thompson reminisces about beaning Kevin Love in youth baseball

Golden State Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson hilariously reflected on his Little League days playing opposite Cleveland Cavaliers center Kevin Love.

Long before Klay Thompson and Kevin Love battled in the NBA for championship rings, they went to bat against each other in the 1990s.

Back then, Thompson and Love played in the same league, but it was youth baseball in Lake Oswego, Oregon.

Even though Thompson and Love were both born in Southern California, both of their families moved to Oregon, where Love and Thompson became childhood friends.

Recently, Thompson went back to the baseball field where it all began to reminisce in trademark Klay Thompson fashion. Amid hilarious observations, like how “fresh” it smells in the dugout, Thompson told a story about the time he hit Love while on the mound.

Here’s the story, in Klay’s own words:

“I faced Kevin Love here. I was pitching, he was batting. I beaned him, right in the back. Knew he was gonna be a Cav.”

Klay Thompson told the story of how he beaned Kevin Love during Little League baseball

Thompson didn’t just share this priceless childhood moment: he was sure to reenact his pitch for all to see.

Although Thompson and Love played baseball, it was clear from birth that these two were destined to live out their basketball legacies. Thompson’s father, Mychal Thompson, was the first overall pick of the 1978 NBA Draft. Stan Love, Kevin’s father, was a big man in the NBA for four years after being drafted with the ninth overall pick in the 1971 NBA Draft.

“The boys played Little League baseball together,” recalled Mychal Thomspon in a 2014 interview. “Kevin would come over to the house almost every weekend. We were very close to the Loves.”

“That’s really wild, isn’t it?” Stan Love marveled. “Two kids who played together in Lake Oswego wound up doing pretty well for themselves.”

Klay was thinking about his childhood too when he revisited his favorite Lake Oswego haunt, remarking on the fleeting nature of youth.