The Legend of #ChinaKlay

During the NBA season, Klay Thompson is a cold, emotionless scoring machine. With his steely gaze, he takes aim, computes the distance and angle and rifles the ball towards the hoop with his mechanically precise release. He barely breaks a smile even as the ball swishes through the net. He runs back down the court and locks onto the player he will shut down in the next play.

In the past few weeks, we’ve seen a different Klay Thompson. In the last two weeks, he’s has been on tour in China promoting his signature sneaker. The deeper Klay Thompson gets into his sneaker tour, the more #ChinaKlay emerges.

#ChinaKlay introduced himself by getting blocked by the rim attempting a 360 dunk.

Klay Thompson would have gone with a gimme dunk. A two-handed flush or a one-handed tomahawk. Not #ChinaKlay though. #ChinaKlay shoots for the stars.

#ChinaKlay also showed us what unbridled joy is as he partied hard in a Chinese club.

He’s not afraid to let loose and drop some (F) bombs.

He doesn’t just walk into a room. #ChinaKlay saunters in with style. Sometimes repeatedly.

He’s quite the showman, taking every opportunity to have fun.

Sometimes the time difference messes with #ChinaKlay and jet lag gets the better of him. At least he finished strong before he took his nap.

In China, he wasn’t win at all costs. He sometimes took an L for the greater good.

He took in the culture and sometimes it was a little too much for him.

And just like how he started his trip, #ChinaKlay ended it with a bang as he showed the aspiring Chinese kids just how it’s done.

The Warriors fans were starting to get worried that their star shooting guard might not ever come back home and they’d be stuck with #ChinaKlay.

Thankfully, what happens in China, stays in China and Klay Thompson is safely back home ready to torch defenders once again.

#ChinaKlay is the wilder, more expressive, less skilled version of Klay Thompson. If this were Stranger Things, he’d be the upside down version, except not muted but in full blown technicolor.

Klay Thompson and #ChinaKlay are exact opposites of each other. But they do have one thing in common. Both of them keep on winning.

Photo from Getty Images