“Don’t Give a Damn About Them Tipping No Hats”: Draymond Green Avoided Emotions During Klay Thompson’s Tribute Video

Despite Klay Thompson’s best effort to downplay it, his return to the Chase Center for the first time since leaving the Warriors in the offseason after 13 years with the franchise was going to be an emotional affair. Fans, the team’s employees, and his former teammates participated in celebrating his legacy with the team.

The Warriors organization went above and beyond to honor the man who had contributed in building one of the greatest dynasties of modern basketball. The way they parted ways hadn’t been ideal but it had no impact on the love and respect they had for each other.

The most important gift the team had prepared for Klay was a tribute video to celebrate his return even if it was as a rival. Draymond Green, who has been close to Klay for over a decade, knew the tribute video the team made for him and planned to play at some point during the game would make him teary. So he came up with an ingenious plan to ensure it didn’t make him mushy. In his post-game press conference, he revealed,

“I watched the tribute video earlier… I just didn’t want to deal with those emotions [during the game] because A, there’s a love for Klay that ain’t going anywhere. And B, watching his reruns, you are a part of it. So you start getting emotional like, ‘Oh man, I remember.’ ‘Hey, on that playoff run, we had to do this, overcome this.’ You start to go down those lanes.”

Green explained he didn’t want the memories to come rushing back to him during the game and break his focus. Instead, he dealt with them before the game. When asked about the Warriors fans paying homage to his love for boating in the San Francisco Bay by waving sailor hats, the veteran forward hilariously disclosed his strategy for the planned gesture,

“I don’t give a damn about them tipping no hats.”

Green’s tactic worked, as he was locked in and helped the Warriors win 120-117. Thompson would undoubtedly approve of his former teammate’s decision to watch the tribute video beforehand and likely wishes he could do it too, considering how keen he was not to make a big deal about his first game back in the Bay Area.

Klay Thompson focused solely on the Mavericks

The veteran guard spent days trying to be nonchalant about what was meant to be a tribute night for him and a celebration of his legacy. However, he reiterated several times that the Warriors are a chapter of his career that he has moved past and doesn’t reminisce about much, and his sole focus is to win a championship with the Mavericks.

When asked if he keeps in touch with his former teammates, Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, he dismissively responded,

“Not really. I’ll see them when I see them. That’s all.”

The forward likely wasn’t bothered by Thompson’s response as he has learned firsthand how arduous it is to maintain a friendship with the guard. When he was asked the same question in the post-game press conference, he said,

“You ever try to keep in touch with Klay? It’s very one-sided. The love is there. The relationship is there.”

Perhaps the trio will reminisce about their time together once they hang up their boots. Until then, it’s only business.