‘THREE!’ chronicles the Warriors run to the 2018 NBA Championship.

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OAKLAND – Sometimes, Klay Thompson walked with a limp. Other times, he walked while slightly hopping on only his right leg. Other times, Thompson walked and accepted the pain.

“I can’t feel my ankle,” Thompson said.

Thompson kept walking anyway. He has nursed a left leg contusion ever since Cleveland guard J.R. Smith crashed into him in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, and yet Thompson kept playing in that game and beyond.

The obvious reasoning: Thompson wanted to help the Warriors win their third NBA championship in the past four years. The Warriors completed that goal in a four-game sweep against the Cavs, but Thompson still wanted to gut it out some more. He wanted to celebrate during the Warriors’ championship parade on Tuesday through downtown Oakland.

Therefore, Thompson often hopped off one of the Warriors’ double-decker buses, walked along the barricaded streets and greeted fans with high fives, autographs and champagne baths. Even if he admitted feeling pain through the team’s nearly 90-minute parade, Thompson leaned on championship euphoria and alcohol as antibiotics.

“I’m sore now, but it was worth it,” Thompson told The Bay Area News Group afterwards. “It was just like I played a 40-minute game. But after this, I can get off my feet. I can rest. And I can enjoy this sun and get a tan for once.”

Beforehand, Thompson enjoyed the sun on one of the Warriors’ double-decker buses. Once Thompson stepped foot on the bus at 11 a.m., he instantly created a new hashtag. Thompson became “Parade Klay” nearly a summer after showing a similar persona as “China Klay” during a promotional trip in China.

Before the bus moved, construction workers tossed their hardhats onto the roof in hopes that Thompson would sign his autograph. He happily obliged. While enjoying a cigar, Thompson signed a hard hat, threw it back to a construction worker down below and then caught another one. He signed about 10 of them before the bus left. No wonder the Warriors have lauded Thompson for excelling in catch-and-shoot opportunities.

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“I’ve never seen that before. That’s pretty cool. That’s pretty awesome,” said Mychal Thompson, the former Showtime Laker that has attended championship parades as both a player (1987, 1988) and a proud father (2015, 2017, 2018). “Just to see the love the fans have for the Warriors, they remind me of Lakers fans with how loyal they are and how much passion they have for their team.”

Klay Thompson showed just as much passion for his fans.

After completing his autograph signings for the construction workers, Thompson moved to the front of the bus with teammate and close friend, Zaza Pachulia. Thompson immediately grabbed a bullhorn and cheered on the Warriors fans that greeted him with welcoming screams with every turn through downtown Oakland, LaFayette Square, Snow Park, Lakeside Park and Lake Merritt.

On one turn, Thompson led one group of Warriors fans with “Sweep” chants. At another turn, Thompson prompted another group of Warriors fans to greet Pachulia with “Zaza” chants. On other turns, Thompson soaked in the confetti blowing in his face and the “Warriors” chants ringing in his ears. Through all the stops, Thompson frequently tossed Warriors’ T-Shirts and autographed basketballs into the crowd. He even threw a perfect bounce pass that a young fan caught behind a barricade.

Thompson then yelled out through the bullhorn and offered a championship prediction, “We’re going to win five or six more!”

The greatest hits happened when the bus stopped. Thompson would grab a champagne bottle with one hand and a bullhorn with the other. He walked off the bus. Then he danced in the streets and greeted fans. Before and after thanking them for their support, Thompson then brought new meaning to his “Splash Brothers” nickname. He doused Warriors fans with Luc Belaire Brut champagne.

At one stop, Thompson was so engrossed with slapping high fives with one group of Warriors fans that he almost knocked into a police officer sitting on a motorcycle. At another stop, Thompson became so amused with a Warriors fan holding a Fathead of a crying LeBron James that Thompson laughed and posed with the fan for a picture. And on another stop, Thompson took a picture of himself with a group of Warriors fans with a selfie stick. He hugged them all.

Klay posed with Warriors fan holding a FatHead of a crying LeBron James https://t.co/yzr78bKmLm pic.twitter.com/eaAOnaRdZn — Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) June 13, 2018

“It’s hard to put into words,” Thompson said of the fan support. “You make people happy. That’s honestly why we play.”

And it is why Thompson continued celebrating. He stood on his seat so he could get a higher angle to cheer and yell through the bullhorn. After the bus driver made a sharp turn, Thompson lost his balance before a reporter saved him from falling. Thompson then said, “this bus driver is driving like a maniac!”

No worries. Thompson kept having fun. He consumed vodka and orange juice. He took swigs of Hennessy. He mixed Body Armor, an energy drink he endorses, with vodka. He then boasted, “Gatorade sucks! Drink Body Armor!”

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He spent some private time with Mychal toward the back of the bus. But soon enough, Klay wanted to interact with more Warriors fans throughout the parade route.

Thompson encouraged fans who were drinking to chug. He called one young Warriors fan “the next Steph Curry.” Thompson yelled out to a group of police officers, “I get no tickets for the whole summer!” Thompson may or may not have intentionally yelled through the bullhorn with Pachulia standing within earshot.

“I’m sorry!” Thompson said before patting Pachulia on his right shoulder. Thompson then yelled through the bullhorn, “Let me me get some of that Hennessy.” Pachulia threw up his arms in mock disgust.

Therefore, it might not be surprising to hear what Thompson considered the highlight of the parade.

“Probably yelling in Zaza’s ear on the bus,” Thompson joked. Despite Pachulia possibly losing his hearing, he still helped his friend out. A Warriors fan tossed a basketball onto the bus, and the ball nearly hit Thompson in the head. Pachulia leaned in and caught the ball.

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How can Thompson top “Parade Klay?” That might happen soon. He plans to go to China beginning on June 22 for about 10 days. Last year, Thompson visited Xi’an and Chengdu and mixed business (shooting clinics, Anta promotional appearances), gaffes (missing a 360-degree dunk and airballing a 3-pointer at a local clinic) and nightlife (dancing at clubs).

“I don’t know how I’m going to follow up with an encore,” Thompson said, smiling. “But I will not be attempting any 360-dunks this year. Maybe some basic two drop-step [dunks]. Other than that, I will just have fun out there, show my fans a great time and show them what it’s like to be a professional.”

And, of course, Klay will likely have some fun. His father hopes he sees his son bust out more dance moves at various nightclubs.

“They always say dance like no one’s watching right?” Mychal Thompson said, grinning. “He’s got all of his moves from me. No question about it. That’s some of his tribal moves in the Bahamas.”

Unsurprisingly, Klay showed some of those dance moves both on the bus and when he walked the streets. Then, Klay yelled out rap lyrics, bobbed his head and waved his hands up and down. During those times, Klay often poured champagne from the bus to the crowd.

Clearly, the normally stoic Thompson decided it was time to show the other side of his personality. And why not? He had completed another season that impressed the Warriors.

Thompson averaged 20.0 points, while shooting 48.8 percent from the field and 44 percent from 3-point range. He posted 35 points in a Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals against Houston. Despite his ankle injury, Thompson shot efficiently in Game 1 (8-of-16) and Game 2 (8-of-13) against Cleveland before laboring in Game 3 (4-of-11) and Game 4 (4-of-10, three fouls, two turnovers). Thompson’s father liked his son’s self-criticism for his performances in Game 3 and 4. Mychal also liked seeing his son playing through a serious ailment.

“It showed you how mentally tough and competitive he is,” Mychal Thompson said. “It showed me how much winning matters to him. He was not going to let a sore ankle deter him from the team’s goal. That just showed me that winning is the only thing that matters to him.”

Because of those qualities, Warriors majority owner Joe Lacob told ESPN he would like to offer Klay an extension before he becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2019. He is under contract for the 2018-19 season for about $19 million.

“Man, I’m just thinking about today. It’s hard to think about that,” Klay said. “I’m just thinking about what I’m going to do and what I’m going to put on the grill after this.”

Klay has said multiple times he wants to re-sign with the Warriors because of his affection for the franchise’s success, its team-oriented culture as well as the Bay Area. Though he might take a hometown discount, it appears unlikely he will immediately accept an extension in hopes to maximize his earnings.

“They’re not going anywhere. He’s not going anywhere. No reason to hurry anything,” Mychal Thompson said. “We’ll worry about that next summer when the time comes, see where we are and where the team is and everything. Right now, you just want to bask in this championship victory.”

Klay did just that. All he needed was a close friend (Pachulia), a supportive father (Mychal), a bullhorn, champagne and legions of Warriors fans cheering his every move. Those ingredients provided the perfect remedy for Klay’s hurt ankle. So just like he did in the Finals, Klay pushed through it.

Follow Bay Area News Group Warriors beat writer Mark Medina on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.