Draymond Green Talks Warriors Dynasty, Title Expectations for Next Season in B/R AMA

AP Photo/Jeff Chiu

Draymond Green has been a key voice for the Golden State Warriors during his nine-year NBA career. 

A three-time All-Star and former Defensive Player of the Year winner, Green’s contributions on both ends of the court have made him an invaluable piece for one of the league’s best franchises over the past decade.

Coming off a 2020-21 season in which he averaged a career-high 8.9 assists per game, Green sat down with B/R for an AMA to answer questions on a variety of topics ranging from the Warriors’ previous dynasty, his expectations for next season with a healthy Klay Thompson and much more. 

The following is the full transcript from the AMA session.

@nflmemes Which of the three championship runs was your favorite and why?

There’s nothing better than the first one, but the 2018 championship run, there was something that took place during that run, which was my favorite moment of any run, which was beating the Houston Rockets. They had said this team is built to beat the Golden State Warriors. They were on record saying that all year. Well, they had their chance, up 3-2 and Kevin got hurt, and that was the end of their run. That was my favorite moment of any run. That’s ballsy to go public and say you’re going to beat us and they did it. They said it all year. That was my favorite moment.

@Magisjohnson32 How far do you think you will go next year with a healthy Klay?

I think we’ll win the Finals again next year. Zero doubt.

@Steve_Perrault: What are your thoughts on the Celtics shakeup and Coach K retiring news today?

Very interesting day. That’s a lot going on in Jayson Tatum’s life.

@LegendBoy The hardest player you have guarded in your NBA career is ___

Kevin Durant. Nobody is impossible to guard, but he is as close to impossible as it gets. And Manu Ginobili. He used to move downhill, but moving sideways. The moment you see him moving to the left — eurostep.

@WalkingBuckett The other night you said the nets are coming out of the East. Who comes out of the West?

Who is coming out of the West is coming out of LA. I’ve seen LeBron down 3-2 before and seen him bring his team back to another NBA Finals.

@fitchkarma66 What was your welcome to the NBA moment?

That was ice ages ago. My rookie year, we were playing the Chicago Bulls. My freshman year of college, we played USC with Gibson and DeRozan. I had to guard Taj and I gave him fits. I came into the league my rookie year and thought I would be able to handle him in the pros, and he completely destroyed me. I had to ask for a switch. I was like ‘yo let’s switch, I can’t get a stop’

@just_in_time As such a low pick in the NBA Draft, did you envision having the success you have now?

I always believed that I would have the success, but to say I envisioned it, I didn’t see any path to it happening other than just me being confident in myself. I always believed I could have this type of success, but saw no path to it.

@cougarfan15 What team did you see yourself on as you were entering the NBA?

I’m a very deep thinker. When I was going through pre-draft, I was thinking about where I would go. For some strange reason, in a conversation with myself, I said ‘I know I won’t end up in the state of California.’ Ironically, I got drafted to the Warriors and it was the most mind boggling thing. I had never left the state of Michigan so I was extremely home-sick going out there. I thought I would go to the Heat or Bulls just because of what I was hearing during the draft process, but I didn’t think I would end up in California.

@crazypig_58 Your favorite Klay moment?

In a hotel in Miami, he ran into a wall and busted his eye open with stitches. He tried to lie to us and get his friend to lie and say he got into a fight at the club. When you’re leaving the club in Miami, you’re not always sober and he tried to tell us he got into a fight.

@killianaintabust Which up-and-coming player reminds you most of yourself?

Juan Toscano-Anderson. Extremely high basketball IQ. He’s a dog, doesn’t back down to anyone.

@Jojo473454 Are there any trash-talkers in the league that are better than you right now?

Better? No. Is there anyone that talks more than me? Yes, but better absolutely not. Trae Young talks more than me. It’s incredible what he’s doing. I did not enjoy watching Trae Young play basketball the last two years, but I enjoy watching Trae Young play basketball this year. Just to watch his growth, has been amazing. If you don’t take your hat off to him, you’re just a hater.

@ritvik23 Who were some guys you studied to become a great defender?

You just try to study guys that have size. Kurt Thomas, Ben Wallace and then most importantly my uncle taught me defense at a very young age. 

@br_walkoff Who’s your favorite MLB player and why?

Derek Jeter. I met him before it was one of the most incredible things. He was sharper than I even thought and that’s hard to top.

@pigglywiggly789 If you could dunk on one NBA player, who would you choose?

LeBron. I would absolutely hang the poster in my house. I got a shot blocked by him in the play-in game and all I could think of was trying to dunk on him.

@ozziest What’s the most misunderstood part of being you? 

That’s for people to find out themselves.

@jasper_pail What is your favorite restaurant in California?

Mr. Chow in Beverly Hills.

@BR_Betting Best team gambling story? Biggest gambler on the team?

I’m not really not one to put other people’s business out there. I like to gamble though. I am one of them, that’s for sure.

@jojo473454 Are you interested in becoming a full-time analyst after you retire? 

I have several things I want to do when I’m done playing. That is one of them.

Rapid Fire

Favorite Disney movie?

Lion King

Favorite Tom Izzo story?

We were in a team meeting when I was a freshman. He doesn’t rely on freshman to say much. He was asking leaders to respond, and they wouldn’t say anything. I kept responding and he would tell me to shut up over and over again. Before I knew it, he was directing all of his questions to me.

The pair of sneakers you would keep if you had to get rid of the rest? 

My All-White Converse Pro Leather Low.

What was the fanfare like during the core of the Warriors dynasty?

We would pull up to hotels at 3 in the morning and there would be 1,000 people standing outside. When we go to the clubs you would see people moving towards that area. It was definitely crazy. With all the star power we had, it was crazy.

Go-to junk food?

Hot cheetos.

Chick-fil-A or Popeyes?

CFA, not even a comparison.

This year’s NBA Champs are ___

Brooklyn Nets. Somebody gonna have to prove me wrong.