Klay Thompson Fondly Recalls the Time He Beaned Kevin Love in Little League

In Wednesday’s Hot Clicks: a baseball rivalry between two NBA greats, Charlie Morton’s gutsy Game 1 and more.

That’s one stacked Little League game

Long before he became one of the deadliest long-range shooters in NBA history, Klay Thompson struggled with his accuracy on the baseball diamond.

Earlier this month, Thompson had a chance to visit his former elementary school when the Warriors were in Portland for their preseason opener. He found his old class picture in the hallway, shot some jumpers in the gym and went to check out the baseball field where he used to play Little League games. And Thompson wasn’t the only future NBA star to play baseball there.

“I faced Kevin Love here,” Thompson recalled. “I was pitching, he was batting. I beaned him. Right in the back.

“Knew he was going to be a Cav.”

Klay wasn’t kidding, either. Love confirmed on Instagram that he took a fastball right to the shoulder in one of their heated games between Lakeside Lumber and Superior Fence.

But, despite the beanball, Love and Thompson’s Little League rivalry wasn’t nearly as contentious as it was during the 2015-2018 NBA Finals. The two were very good friends growing up in Lake Oswego, Oregon.

“Kevin would come over to the house almost every weekend. We were very close to the Loves,” Klay’s father, Mychal Thompson, told the Portland Tribune in 2014.

They weren’t always on different baseball teams, though.

Grew up with these two, proud of them and excited to watch this series! (Klay Thompson-bottom left, Kevin Love-big guy in the back)

— Jen Beyrle (@JenBeyrle) June 2, 2016

The Warriors–Cavaliers rivalry in the second half of the last decade was one of the greatest in NBA history. It sounds like it had its roots on a baseball field in Oregon. 

The best of SI

Charlie Morton expanded his impressive legacy with his gutsy Game 1 performance (on a broken leg!). ... The four most important players for the Astros in Game 1 were acquired in July. ... Five things to know about the Deshaun Watson trade rumors. ... The way Mike Tomlin shut down the USC speculation said a lot. 

Around the sports world

Doc Rivers bemoaned the Sixers’ lack of playmakers after their loss to the Knicks but he doesn’t want to talk about the missing playmaker. ... The Jets aren’t happy that the Patriots ran up the score on Sunday. ... James Franklin humorously stumbled over his words a couple of times while trying to dismiss speculation about his hiring a new agent. ... The Blue Jackets are looking to identify the fan who taunted goalie Elvis Merzlikins over the death of his friend and teammate Matiss Kivlenieks.

Here’s what Charlie Morton was able to do after breaking his leg

Charlie Morton did all of this on a broken leg pic.twitter.com/ONuE8boYIf

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) October 27, 2021

This pitch was the one where the pain finally became too much

Charlie Morton is leaving the game in the 3rd inning after he came up in pain after a pitch. pic.twitter.com/ZYiJ13fSZ8

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 27, 2021

SI writers also play through the pain

Tom Verducci broke his arm at Fenway and wrote two stories with it before getting it checked out and is suddenly only the second most impressive performance of this postseason with a fractured limb.

— Stephanie Apstein (@stephapstein) October 27, 2021

The first lead-off homer in Game 1 of a World Series

SOLER POWER!

JORGE SOLER LEADS OFF THE #WORLDSERIES WITH A HOMER! pic.twitter.com/iuC8zkP53y

— MLB (@MLB) October 27, 2021

New York native Kemba Walker had his first big Garden moment

Carli Lloyd says goodbye to the USWNT

This is @CarliLloyd, signing off. ⬇️🎤 pic.twitter.com/CZ0841Abdo

— U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (@USWNT) October 27, 2021

What a nasty move

CAT pic.twitter.com/f2oTvQAhQv

— Diaspora United Pod (@DiasporaUtdPod) October 27, 2021

Not sports

The creator of Squid Game heard what LeBron James said about the series and responded by bringing up Space Jam 2. ... The leading vote-getter in New Zealand’s Bird of the Year contest is a bat. ... The latest step in the crypto craze is a bidding war over digital ownership of the right to touch a tungsten cube once per year. 

They’re not getting the security deposit back

Has this guy seen a tree before?

oh my lord this is UNREAL pic.twitter.com/UsuOHklTnq

— Clare Hymer (@ClareHymer) October 26, 2021

A good song

Email dan.gartland@si.com with any feedback or follow me on Twitter for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. Bookmark this page to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.