Warriors’ Thompson fulfills fan’s dying wish
On Monday, Warriors’ shooting guard Thompson talked with fan diagnosed with terminal cancer.
When he posted a heartfelt message on Facebook last week, Randall Wright wasn’t sure it would cut through the socialmedia static. But it was the only way Wright thought he could make his wife Deborah’s dying wish ofmeeting Klay Thompson come true.
Totry togethispost seen, Randall tagged Frank Somerville, who is used to sharing heartwrenching stories asKTVU’s evening news anchor. This one, however, was especially emotional. Last week, he shared the story on his own page, adding: “There is so much garbage on social media. But tome this is one of those timeswherewecanmakeadying woman’s dream come true. How cool would that be?”
Deborah, a life-long Golden
State Warriors fan, was diagnosedwithmetastatic breast cancer. According to her doctors, she has six weeks left to live. She always wanted to meet Thompson but, during this pandemic, would happily settle for a video call.
“My Bride loves Klay Thompsonof theWarriors,” Randall, 59, wrote to Somerville. “I waswondering if at all possible, ifmaybe he could FaceTime her (or Zoom or whatever). I ask for nothing else... no gifts, money, or anything... just for the possibility of a visit from Mr. Thompson.”
The post reached Thompson thanks to theWarriors public relations staff. Senior vice president of communications Raymond Ridder estimates he received no fewer than 15 emails about Deborah’s request. Ridder called Thompson, who has spent the last year diligently re
habbing from a torn ACL in his left knee.
“Klay usually doesn’t reply quickly to things,” Ridder said. “He responded within five minutes.”
On Monday morning, Thompson video- called the Wrights and talked to Deborah for 25 minutes about her family, pets and love for theWarriors. Deborah, who has fond memories of watching Rick Barry with her aunt in the 1970s, was even introduced to Thompson’s dog, Rocco.
“He made me feel like we’ve been friends forever,” Deborah, 62, said, adding that Thompson’s bulldog slept most of the call. “Itwas just a down-toearth conversation.”
Decades ago, talking to a Warriors player may not have been Deborah’s wish. After starting a fulltime job in the late 1970s, Deborah stopped following professional basketball altogether. However, the Oakland native who later
moved to Castro Valley did like to watch basketball at the local high schools because, as she said, the teenagers played for the “pure joy of the game.”
She didn’t tune back into a Warriors game until a few years ago, when she was clicking through television channels and happened to turn to NBC Sports Bay Area just in time to see Stephen Curry make one of his 30-foot moonshots. Having never seen a shot like that, Deborah stopped her channel surfing. Shortly after, Thompson made a long 3-pointer of his own.
“They didn’t play like that in the 70s,” she said. Deborah hardly missed a game until she was diagnosed with cancer.
Thompson became her favorite player when, in a television interview, the Warriors star was asked about his individual efforts. Instead of talking about what he accomplished in the game, he talked about his teammates. Deborah was reminded of the joy she witnessed in games at Castro Valley High School.