For former Laker forward and current Laker radio analyst Mychal Thompson, Father's Day will come early this year, Jan. 8 to be exact.
That is the date that his son, Mychel (with an 'e') will lead the Pepperdine Waves vs. the Saint Mary's Gaels in a Division I basketball game in which the elder Thompson will call the action in his debut with Prime Ticket at 5 p.m.
That's a milestone in the father-son relationship that outside of maybe Bill and Luke Walton, not many get to experience.
"This is my broadcasting crowning achievement," Mychal said. "It's better than calling a Laker championship game. There is nothing that can compare to getting to call a game with your son in it.
"This is right up there with playing one-on-one basketball with him when he got old enough, or when he finally beat me in one-on-one at age 13 when I couldn't keep up with him anymore. This ranks up there with all his great athletic moments. This is the top moment in my broadcasting career to call a top-notch Division I high profile game that he will be in."
Click here to see video of the two Thompsons playing P-I-G (a shortened version of horse). Unfortunately for both Thompsons, the Pepperdine-Saint Mary's game did not exactly go as planned, with the Gaels prevailing 85-65.
His son is equally excited, saying, "This is something memorable. We can look back in 15-20 years and watch it together over and over."
But with the younger Thompson's excitement comes nerves to play well as, given the circumstances, this is not an ordinary West Coast Conference basketball game.
"I definitely want to play better in front of him. He only gets to come to some of my games because he's busy with the Lakers. This will be different since he is commenting on the game and he doesn't want to say anything bad about me, so I want to play well because he'll tell it like it is."
Not so fast Mychel. Mom has already issued dad a warning.
"Oh yeah, she already warned me that I better be nice to him," said Mychal of his wife, Julie. "But I got to call it just like I see it, even if it's a horrible mistake. I can live with a physical error, but there is no excuse for a mental error. I don't want to have to rip him if he plays bad.
"I will be more nervous for him to perform than me calling the game."
But when Mychal is not working the game, he easily transitions from color analyst back to the fathering/mentor role.
"Dad follows all the games of me and my brothers," the younger Thompson said. "He calls me before and after the game to ask me how I did, tells what he thinks I should have done, gives me pointers or just to congratulate me. He always says the right thing."
Said Mychal, "I always try to talk to him after the game. I try to give him productive criticism, but know when to back off and not pound it into his head."
The elder Thompson was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1978 NBA draft and played 12 seasons and 935 regular season games in the NBA with the Trailblazers, Lakers and San Antonio Spurs.
The 6-10 forward averaged 13.7 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists before retiring from NBA following the 1990-91 season.
After his standout playing career, he quickly transitioned to a broadcast career that has seen him work with the Vancouver Grizzlies, Seattle Supersonics and Trailblazers before returning to Los Angeles, with whom he was a member of NBA championship teams in 1987 and 1988, as the Lakers radio color analyst for eight seasons now.
As a result, his sons have basically been gym rats and were able to talk to players like Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Derek Fisher, Clyde Drexler and Michael Jordan, to name a few.
"They got knowledge and advice from all these Hall of Famers," Thompson said. "It was great for the kids growing up."
The advice, apparently, paid off.
Mychel is his eldest, a 6-7 forward for the Waves in his senior season. He has been a four-year starter and is having his best season yet, averaging 13.4 points and 5.6 rebounds per game for Pepperdine (6-11).
His middle son, Klay, a 6-6 guard for Washington State, has been a three-year starter for the Cougars and is averaging a career-best 22.2 points per game in 2010-11.
His youngest son, Trayce, was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 2nd round of the 2009 MLB June Amateur Draft.
Quite an athletic family.
"We are very blessed with three gifted boys, three athletic boys," proud papa Thompson said. "I tell them to respect it, appreciate it and to take advantage of it."
As part of the broadcast, father and son played a game of P-I-G, a shortened version of H-O-R-S-E, on Friday.
And though the younger Thompson has the advantage in games of one-on-one now, dad feels he has a good chance in P-I-G.
"I got all the fat old man moves down, those are going to be hard for him to do."
Who actually won? Click here to find out.
