Draymond Green cannot thank Steve Kerr enough for transforming him not just as a player, but also as a well-rounded person and a polished superstar. Speaking to Penny Hardaway, Green, who has played 10 years under Kerr, explained how the coach changed his thought process, and forged him into a winner.
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“He’s helped me a ton. The amount of things he taught me about winning that I didn’t know, that right there alone is enough. He taught me things about winning, how to win playoff series, how to conduct yourself in interviews after. He taught me so much about winning that I’m forever grateful,” the former DPOY recalled.
Kerr didn’t have it easy with Draymond initially, though. After replacing Mark Jackson as head coach of the Golden State Warriors in 2014, he took some time to earn the power forward’s trust.
And it wasn’t always smooth sailing, either. The two butted heads numerous times over the years. According to Green, the relationship matured over time to the point that they realized the arguments arose from their shared passion and desire to be the best.
“What we ultimately realized one day is that a lot of times we go at it because that same fire and passion that you see me play with, Steve has that. Like Steve lowkey out of his mind man. He just lose it, he just snap. And that same fire and drive we just clash over. Until we realized that it’s the same passion it’s the same drive,” added Green.
Draymond also claimed that Kerr helped him grow from being a brash young player to a team-first player. The coach, on his part, has always had the player’s back. This was evident last season, during Green’s struggles.
When Kerr stood up for Green
Green was slapped with multiple suspensions last year thanks to his unnecessarily physical actions. That included an attempt to choke Rudy Gobert, and hitting Jusuf Nurkic. He missed a lot of games which ultimately cost the Warriors a playoff spot.
Speaking to Warriors Radio last year, Kerr supported Green, and reminded the critical fans that Draymond was one the main reasons for the Warriors’ dynastic run of four titles in eight years.
“I will stick with him forever… Draymond is so competitive and so emotional, I’m fine if he gets tossed a few times a year because that’s the price you pay for having a guy who is the driver of your defense. Without Draymond we’d have 0 championships, I hope people realize that,” Kerr had said.
For all the faults that fans find in him, there is no doubt that Green epitomizes a fierce competitor, driven to excel at all times. A drive instilled in him by Kerr.
