Klay Thompson’s father Mychal is fining him for getting fined

On Wednesday, Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson was fined $35,000 for his role in Tuesday night's multi-player tussle with the Indiana Pacers. It was the first fine of Thompson's two-year career, and therefore something of a milestone. Any new experience, including the bad ones, can be valuable.

Unfortunately for Thompson, the fine levied by the NBA will not be his only punishment. His father Mychal, who played 12 seasons in the league, is cutting off some of his son's money to teach him a lesson. From Mychal's ESPN Radio show in Los Angeles, as discussed at Believe the Hype (via TBJ):

This was the first time that Klay has ever been fined for an on court indiscretion in his NBA career & the consequences will be more noticeable to him than just the $35K fine. The 23-year-old doesn’t have access to his money, all cheques are paid to Mychal & Julie who take care of his accounts for him to make sure Klay’s financial situation is set up for his post NBA career.

So, naturally, Papa Thompson’s going to teach Klay a lesson of his own by fining him personally also, however, Klay will find out the old fashioned way.

“He will [find out he's been fined by us] when he sees that cash envelope show up a little short this week,” he said. [...]

But what if Klay wanted to take a girl out on a nice date? “Go to Langers in Oakland… Go to the grocery store & get a nice [bottle of wine] for $30…”

Thompson goes on to explain that his son gets $3000 per month for rent and $300 for weekly walking-around money, which might seem like an imbalanced breakdown to anyone not familiar with the Bay Area's mega-booming housing market. (Although rents are cheaper in Oakland, where Klay seems to live, than in San Francisco.) Nevertheless, $300 can go fast in this area, particularly for a young guy in a glamourous profession.

Put bluntly, what I'm saying is that the Thompsons might be teaching their soon too effective a lesson with this extra fine. Their goal of teaching Klay about the value of long-term planning is a noble one, as is their desire to make him feel the consequences of a mistake. On the other hand, Klay Thompson is a professional basketball player earning a lot of money and maybe deserves a nice meal or the ability to take a woman on a date that doesn't involve getting tipsy in a grocery store parking lot.

Thompson is up for an extension after next season, and the Warriors seem to like him quite a bit. We can only wonder if his parents will control his paycheck when it's eight figures, as well.