Mychal Thompson
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Mychal Thompson (born January 30, 1955 in Nassau, Bahamas), is a Bahamian American former National Basketball Association player who was the #1 pick in the 1978 NBA Draft. Today, Thompson is a notable sports radio personality, who serves as the radio analyst for the Los Angeles Lakers, in addition to hosting the Loose Cannons talk show on KLAC radio in Los Angeles. Thompson (6' 10", 226 lbs) played both the power forward and center positions.
Thompson was born in The Bahamas, but moved to the United States as a youth, playing high school ball in Miami, Florida. He then attended the University of Minnesota where he had an impressive collegiate career; impressive enough that the Portland Trail Blazers made him the number one pick in the 1978 NBA Draft, the first foreign-born player to be selected at that position.
Thompson was a fixture in the Portland lineup for eight years (though one season was missed due to injury), where he started at both power forward and center positions (depending on other personnel). He was named to the 1979 All-Rookie team, and had his statistically best season in 1981-1982, where he averaged over 20 points and 11 rebounds per game. In the 1986 off-season, Thompson was traded to the San Antonio Spurs in exchange for center/forward Steve Johnson.
Thompson played with the Spurs for over half a season, before he was traded again, this time to the Los Angeles Lakers. He was brought to the Lakers in mid February in 1987 to defend Celtics forward Kevin McHale whom he played great defense against, and to backup Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Thompson helped the Lakers win consecutive titles in 1987 and 1988. He retired in 1991.
Thompson has long been known as a loquacious personality and as an excellent interview, who was once described as basketball's answer to Bob Uecker. He once remarked that he intended someday to return to his homeland to serve as Prime Minister. While Thompson appears to have no such political ambitions, he currently serves (along with Rick Fox, a Canadian with Bahamian ancestry) as Sports Ambassador to the Bahamas. Thompson today is the radio analyst for the Lakers, and has also worked as a broadcaster for the Trail Blazers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Vancouver Grizzlies, and Seattle SuperSonics.
