Real recognizes real, even if there’s some bad blood between both parties. Although Draymond Green infamously went at Paul Pierce, the Boston Celtics legend can’t help but respect the Golden State Warriors star. Especially after Green’s recent actions following the team’s emphatic loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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The Warriors entered the 2025-26 season with championship aspirations. They are currently 7-6, which isn’t the way they would’ve liked to start the year. Things practically came crashing down after a tough 126-102 loss to the Thunder in OKC earlier this week.
Green and Jimmy Butler, as the senior pros in the team, took an exception to their performance, even going as far as to call out a few members on the roster.
“I think everybody was committed to winning [at the start of the season] and doing that any way possible,” Green said post-game. “Right now, it doesn’t feel that way.”
Buter added by saying, “The fight, honestly. I just think the fight is not all the way there. If you’re not getting stops, you’re not playing hard. You’re not doing whatever it takes to win.”
Green and Butler were talking about the younger guys on the team. Some people have since argued that Green was going too far by making these comments public. Pierce, on the other hand, is a fan of this type of leadership.
“I’m sure Draymond’s had these conversations in practice with him, in the locker room with him, and it’s just when the frustration builds up,” Pierce said on the No Fouls Given podcast.
Pierce knows better than anyone else that there’s more than one way to treat teammates. Not everyone responds the same way to criticism. In this situation, Green receives a pass for one specific reason.
“I don’t mind what Draymond did because he’s a veteran,” Pierce said. “He’s a champion in this league. Maybe it’ll put a battery in their back and knowing that they’re wasting a tremendous opportunity to go to practice every day and watch Jimmy and watch Steph.”
To his credit, Green’s remarks seemed to have worked. The Warriors were able to pull away with a big-time win against the San Antonio Spurs the following game. It should be noted that Stephen Curry came back from injury to put forth a vintage performance, finishing with 46 points. That said, the rest of the guys also thrived in their roles.
The Warriors will need more performances like that if they hope to climb up the standings.
