How the Warriors will pay tribute to Klay Thompson for his return to Chase Center

SAN FRANCISCO -- As the Golden State Warriors welcome Klay Thompson back to San Francisco on Nov. 12, they plan to honor the four-time champion with a special "Salute Captain Klay" night.

Golden State will hand out a captain's hat to 18,064 fans, a nod to Thompson's passion for boating and how he would often commute to the Chase Center by boat.

"It'll be emotional and strange. When you hear Klay Thompson announced, but he's not running out through our line of guys, it's going to be a different night for us and him," Warriors president and chief operating officer Brandon Schneider said.

The Warriors started brainstorming ideas to help welcome Thomspon back during the summer. Schneider remembers initiating the first round of conversations of how they'd honor the five-time All-Star before the NBA schedule was released.

The idea of the captain's hat was decided about two months ago, as they wanted to do something more than just a video and more meaningful than a T-shirt or bobblehead giveaway.

"We think it will be a cool moment to collectively tip our hat to captain Klay Thompson," Schneider said.

This weekend, you can can celebrate Klay ahead of his big return to the Chase Center.

"Klay Area: An Art Tribute to Klay Thompson" opened in Oakland Friday.

More than a dozen Bay Area artists are expressing their admiration for the former Splash Brother through art.

"Fifteen artists from across the Bay Area putting their skills to use to really capture some of the dynamism and quirkiness and brilliance of Captain Clay, Number 11," said Jeff Perlstein, owner of Soul Space Lab.

The exhibit runs through Sunday at Sole Space Lab on 9th street.

Admission is free, but donations are accepted.

ABC7 News contributed to this report.