The Golden State Warriors have emerged as one of the most dominant teams in the NBA, thanks to their solid core, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. LeBron James faced the Warriors four consecutive times in the NBA finals, only holding a 1-3 record against the Dubs. In the latest episode of the ‘Mind the Game Pod’ podcast with JJ Redick, James discussed what makes Draymond Green a special player to complement alongside Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry.
Advertisement
The Warriors are known for having several great shooters in their squad. With Curry and Thompson on the floor, the Warriors depend heavily on them for scoring volumes from beyond the arc. Draymond Green, a player with a high basketball IQ, understands this and creates plays to complement the shooting prowess of his fellow co-stars. As LeBron James puts it,
“Draymond Green’s biggest asset offensively is being able to know that guys are going to sag off of them cause they daring them to shoot. And Draymond’s smart enough to say, ‘You idiots. I’m not going to shoot the y’all playing so far off me. So when I catch it in space, I’m gonna find one of my deadliest of two guys, Klay or Steph, and I’m gonna DHO (Dribble Hand-Off) to those guys and get a clean hit!”
Furthermore, James also praised Green’s pocket-passing abilities, which quickly helped him take on four defenders on the floor with a three-man screen. This means if Curry passes the ball to Draymond inside the paint, he can find space for another Warriors sharpshooter like Klay Thompson, already positioned beyond the arc, to bait the defenders and grab an easy three-pointer assist.
LBJ, possessing great basketball IQ himself, definitely meant his praise for Green after efficiently breaking down the Warriors’ play. He compares such playmaking to Duncan Robinson and Ray Allen in the past, praising younger stars such as Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo for incorporating such tactics. Such intelligent plays win crucial games for teams, as already pronounced by the dominant spells of teams such as the Warriors.
LeBron James and Draymond Green share a close relationship in the NBA
LeBron James and Draymond Green share a close relationship in the league despite being from rival teams. As Green revealed last year on Paul George’s ‘Podcast P,’ he sees his relationship with James as a brotherly bond between the two. The Warriors forward told George, “As far as us being as tight as we are, like, that’s my big brother, love him to death.”
LeBron James has also previously acknowledged his friendship with Green and praised him. In a 2017 video special on ‘Uninterrupted’, James compared Green to Charles Oakley and remarked, “Oak and Dray are carbon copies of what the league is today and the league at their time. This is what we do. We gonna do it at a high level, and I’m gonna do it at a high level.”
Both the players always had nothing besides mutual respect for each other. Green had once even admitted on his podcast for catching flak among fans and on social media for praising LeBron, which made many speculate about his friendship and bond with James’ conference rival, Stephen Curry.
