Boca Raton, FL – With the Miami Heat turning the page to the Giannis Antetokounmpo era, the team also made another splash in signing veteran Klay Thompson as the franchise addressed the desperate need for shooting on the roster. As the Heat were in action on Tuesday for the start of training camp at Florida Atlantic University (FAU), Thompson kept it real on how the first session with his new team went.

In Thompson's introductory press conference back on Aug. 25 and during Miami's media day on Monday, the veteran was looking forward to the team pushing him to his physical limits, as the franchise is known for its tough workouts and practices. Speaking to the media after Tuesday's training camp practice, the 36-year-old said to ClutchPoints how “tiring” it was, even saying later that it was “hard,” but expressing gratification for it.

“Felt awesome and surreal being here, but everything I expected: highly competitive, tiring, organized, and high-intensity. So looking forward to a great rest of the day and a productive one tomorrow.”

“Today was hard. It was very hard. I'm tired, but I feel very gratified to get through day one,” Thompson continued. “So it was everything I envisioned, and I see now Coach Spo [Erik Spoelstra] took everything he did from Mr. [Pat] Riley. I'll probably talk to my dad later about his training with Pat, and I'm sure there's a lot of similarities.”

Asked Klay Thompson about the first day of training camp for the #Heat at #FAU. Called it “highly competitive, tiring, high intensity.”

Also asked about Bam Adebayo, who he called “one of the better young players in the league.

More below: pic.twitter.com/pql8iPneBw

— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) September 29, 2026

The four-time NBA champion was referencing his father, Mychal Thompson, who played under Riley when he was head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers from 1987 to 1990.

Klay Thompson on Heat's Bam Adebayo: “Bam kind of lit me up”

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Thompson is looking to get acclimated to the Heat and bounce back after a disappointing two seasons with the Dallas Mavericks, leading to the star signing with Miami after being bought out. Last season saw a dip for Thompson, averaging 11.7 points on shooting 39.3 percent from the field and 38.3 percent from three-point range, all of which were career-lows.

Now, Thompson has a prime opportunity to get back to his strengths, as Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo could clear up opportunities for the veteran to help Miami from beyond the arc. Thompson emphasized to ClutchPoints how he's “excited” to play along with the team's new dynamic duo.

“Bam's one of the better young players in the league. His resume speaks for itself. I'm just excited to play with him and Giannis and the rest of the guys,” Thompson said. “I mean, we have an incredibly talented and deep roster, and those guys, Bam and Giannis, are two go-getters.”

Despite being a newcomer, Thompson is getting the full experience of being on the Heat, with him even mentioning that Adebayo “lit me up” after missing box-outs, something he loved to see.

“Today was hard. I can't lie to you. It was exhausting, but I expected that, and I missed a couple of box-outs, and Bam kind of lit me up. I love that,” Thompson said. “I love that we hold each other accountable like that, and we take this real serious. Like, it's a practice in September, but Bam wants to win every drill, so does Giannis. I just love being around that energy…So very grateful to be here.”

Thompson will continue to get acclimated to Miami as training camp at FAU continues on Wednesday ahead of the preseason opener on Saturday against the Toronto Raptors.