Fake Klay Thompson has the face, frame and now the profile to back it up — albeit an 11-years-old depiction with less than All-NBA numbers.
, who made more
national news on Monday for doing perhaps his best Klay Thompson imitation, evidently didn't fake out many defenders in high school.
According to his MaxPreps player page from the 2010-11
Olathe East (Olathe, Kan.) squad, Gurley averaged 2.0 points, 1.4 rebounds, 0.3 assists, 0.2 blocks and 0.1 steals per game during his senior season.
That falls a little short of
Thompson's senior year at
Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) in 2007-08 when he averaged 21 points per game and led his team to a state Division III championship. In the state title game, Thompson scored 37 points and made a state-record seven 3-pointers.
Gurley's senior numbers looked nothing like that. In fact, he didn't even attempt a 3-pointer all season.
Listed as a 6-foot-4 post, No. 22 (Gurley's jersey number) failed to post even two points in 14 of the 23 games he played for an evidently very strong 21-4 Hawks' team. He did hit double-digits one game, busting loose for 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting in a 69-45 win over rival Olathe North.
Though he didn't score more than five points in any other game, Gurley did have one claim to fame. Every game he scored, his team won. How Gurley went, the Hawks followed.
And though he clearly lacks Thompson's range, Gurley did make 61 percent of his field goals (20 of 33) and 75 percent of his free throws (6 of 8).
That's the last Gurley played competitive basketball, instead opting for what The Washington Post called a "YouTube prankster" with his chief gag dressing up to look like Thompson. He has 8.2 million followers.
On Monday before Game 5 of the NBA Finals, he pulled off his biggest gag by fooling Chase Center security and taking several practice shots in the NBA arena long before the 18,000 fans arrived.
According to
Bleacher Report, Gurley grew up an Oklahoma Thunder fan but since his Thompson gag caught on during the NBA Finals of 2015, 2017 and 2018, he now roots for the Warriors because, "I feel like I'm a part of the team."
The night in 2008 when the real Klay Thompson made a CIF Championship game record seven three-pointers and scored 37 in a state-championship win over Sacramento at ARCO Arena.
Photo: David Steutel
