Draymond Green can be called a lot of things. A future NBA Hall of Famer, an all-time NBA defender, a walking controversy, and a four-time NBA Champion. But one thing that Dray doesn’t like to be called? A phrase that makes him feel old.
Advertisement
Green is now 35 years old and has been playing in the league for 13 seasons. His hair, including his beard, is now sporting grays, showing that Father Time has slowly chipped away at his gorgeous features. He’s also morphed into the elder statesman for the Dubs and has been in that role for years.
But on the latest edition of his Draymond Green podcast, the grizzled veteran admitted that one term that he doesn’t want to be associated with is “Unc.” This is a term that has grown in NBA culture, referring to players as their uncle.
“Y’all got to stop with this Unc stuff,” said Dray after Davis called him Unc. “Unc was a crackhead in my hood. Y’all gotta chill, man. Y’all gotta chill. That would never be okay with me,” he added while laughing.
Green was definitely joking, as was Davis, who both chuckled at the thought of an aging Draymond morphing into a mentor to the younger players.
This isn’t just an observation. The Warriors legend has said this himself. “My whole mindset [going] into this season was how can I help these young guys get better? How can I help them improve? I went from the young guy to the super vet on the team,” he said in 2020 during an interview with CBS.
That said, Green has had a few mishaps during his time with the Warriors, something that he himself has admitted. One instance, for example, is his infamous fight with Jordan Poole. “One of my biggest failures as a vet was the incident with Jordan Poole,” said Green on an older episode of his podcast.
“And it took me to go through that failure with him, who was someone who came in and chose his locker to be next to me because he wanted to learn from me, who was someone that I would spend time with that I would pour into and I f—– it all up. I haven’t felt that miserably at most things in my life, so that was one of my biggest failures.”
Green isn’t the player he once was, but his leadership and experience still matter. He sets the tone, mentors the young guys, and shows flashes of his old defensive brilliance. At this point, it’s less about stats and more about impact. His legacy is set. Now, it’s just about how he finishes the story.
And the Warriors need a happy ending. Stephen Curry went out with an injury right amid their NBA Playoff run. Hopefully, The Chef, Green, Butler, and the rest of their squad have something to focus on, even if their Unc does have a temper.
