In this episode of the Draymond Green Show, host Draymond Green interviews NBA head coach Nick Nurse. The conversation centers on three main issues affecting the league. First, they discuss whether the 82‑game schedule should be shortened given the modern, faster pace of play, which they argue doubles the physical demands and injury risk for stars like Joel Embiid. They explore logistical and financial considerations, suggesting that removing 5‑6 games could reduce back‑to‑backs and improve product quality. Second, they examine the relevance and format of the NBA All‑Star Game, noting recent declines in competitiveness, comparing it to other leagues, and debating whether the event should be restructured or eliminated. Third, they critique the voting process for major awards (Coach of the Year, MVP, Defensive Player of the Year), questioning whether voters actually watch enough games and proposing a smaller, rotating committee with proof of viewership. The interview also includes a brief Hyperice NormaTec Elite recovery product plug and a charitable call‑out. Throughout, Nurse shares personal anecdotes and perspectives from his coaching experience.
Chapters
Welcome to the brand new Draymond Green Show YouTube channel. Hit subscribe so you don't miss out on any of our content. Do you think there's some truth to, you know, the 82-game season, but the game being way faster now, right? Like you're probably getting up and down the court now double the amount of times that teams were, call it 20 years ago. Like, and that making a difference. What's your thoughts on the 82-game season? Should maybe that be shortened a bit with the speed of the game? Like when talking about player health, player safety, and all these things, obviously we wanna see Joel Embiid on the court. Like we, I didn't buy tickets to the 76ers to see Joel Embiid hurt because he was forced to play a game and not necessarily forced, but come on, he's trying to win back-to-back MVPs. Do you think there could be a possible adjustment in the 82? Game season.
I think I would be in favor of that, Draymond. I don't know how, again, how it all works out logistically, monetarily, all that kind of stuff. But I certainly agree with your point. Like, here's what I would say is, is you go back and say, oh man, back in the early '90s, these guys all played 82 games. And but, but it was like they dribbled down, they throw it to the block, and two guys stand on the— and then, you know, they there was a lot of standing around. Like, the pace was not anywhere near what it is now. Everybody kind of can do everything now, right? Everybody has to guard everybody. Everybody's got a guard on the perimeter. Everybody's got a guard to 3. There's a lot more transition. So I think the activity level and the, just in general, like, if the pace is twice as fast, it means we're doing twice as much probably, right? Yeah. So the, the chances for injury and all that stuff should be twice as great as well, right?
Yeah, I agree 100%. I, you know, sometimes, and I get it, right? Like everyone say, "Oh, you play less games, that's less money." There's ways around that. Like there's just like, there's ways around anything else. We got the smartest people in the world working in the NBA. We got the best attorneys in the NBA office. Like there's ways for people to put their heads together —and figure out how you keep the money the same, but maybe lessen the games a little bit. Because the reality is, I think a few less games equals a much better product. Like, a few less games, you're talking about you take off 5 or 6 games, that pulls back 3 back-to-backs for a team, right? Like, and you start pulling back all of those things when you're looking at risk of injury and all of that. I think that can make a big difference. So I don't know. But in switching gears a little bit, Adam Silver said yesterday that he doesn't know if the NBA is in a place where we'll ever see a competitive All-Star Game anymore.
Yeah.
And I just kind of wanted to know your thoughts on that. Do you think the All-Star Game should kind of go away? Maybe mix it in, like do some other things. What's your thoughts on that? Or should players be like, you know what, it's an honor and I need to get that out there, take it serious. With you being a coach and sitting on one side of it, you want your players to return healthy. How do you look at the All-Star Game?
I have really fond memories of the All-Star Game, Draymond. First of all, the 2021, I was lucky enough to be the coach of in Chicago. And I think it was the first Elam ending one they did.
Yes.
I don't know if you remember that or not, but that one, that last like 15 minutes of basketball, it was like, poof. It was Kyle and Pascal and they had LeBron, AD, Westbrook, James Harden. I mean, it was unbelievable. We had Joel and Giannis. Oh man, it was, and they were really playing. I don't know how we can recreate that, but I'll never forget that 15 minutes of basketball. But ever since then, it has been a little rough. It's hard to watch. I don't know, you know, the NFL one's kind of gone away.
Yeah.
Major League Baseball, they still put a little bit of incentive on there for the playoffs. They tie it to the home team in the World Series and stuff like that. I don't know, there's just a lot of thought process going on there.
No, I agree 100%. And you know, I just kind of sat and like toyed with the idea of like, do you go away with it? It's such a historical thing. And like, I don't know, man. I just don't know. It's so bad. Like, I actually was there this past year.
Yeah.
It's one of the worst games I've ever seen. And I've seen like some little league games. I've seen a bunch. Like, it's one of the worst basketball games I've ever seen. I couldn't believe it. Like—
Oh, I know.
And there was an emphasis on it, right? Like everyone was talking about it. There was an emphasis. I know our commissioner, Adam, met with the team. I heard Larry Bird met with the teams. Like everybody's coming in and talking about it. It was just like, oh, like, nope, left-hand shots. Hook shots. So I don't know what you do with it.
It always starts and you're like, okay, let's see if they're gonna play or not. And it lasts about 3 possessions and somebody makes a full-court pass and then it's a bank off the backboard and you're like, oh. Guess not. All-Star, All-Star Game time. Draymond Green goes.
As a 12-year NBA veteran, recovery is very important to me. As I continue to get a little older, the body just doesn't bounce back the way it used to. So I'm a big fan of Hyperice, especially their NormaTec boots. What's great about the new NormaTec Elite is that they ditched all the extra hoses and control units from the old model. This one is fully self-contained with a small set of buttons to select your compression level. Super easy to travel with and to get set up after a hard workout or a big game. On top of that, the NormaTec Elite packs 4 hours of battery life. That's enough juice to get full leg compression cycles in before games, after games, and even on the plane. And don't get me started on the tech inside this thing. Hyperice has been pioneering recovery science for years. And the brand new NormaTec Elite takes it to another dimension with 7 different compression levels to choose from. But it's not just for pro athletes. Pro athletes. Everyone can get their hands on these to help with recovery, increase the circulation, and reducing swelling in the lower body. Shop all your warm-up and recovery needs at Hyperice.com. Use code Draymond for 15% off your order today. Exclusions apply. But my last question before we get out of here, Coach, as a Coach of the Year candidate— or no, excuse me, a Coach of the Year winner in yourself— I just wanted to know, what do you make of the voting process for these awards? You won Coach of the Year, I've won a Defensive Player of the Year myself, but the voting process for a guy like Erik Spoelstra, who's never won an NBA Coach of the Year award, like what do you make of the voting process when it comes to Coach of the Year, MVP, Defensive Player of the Year? What do you make of the whole voting process?
I just always wanna make sure that These people that are voting are watching the games, right? They really are investing the time. And I think, Draymond, I mean, you know who the good journalists are and good people in the media that are really knee-deep into it. I mean, there's a lot of games to watch. Those people got a lot of work to do and all that kind of stuff. That's all. I just think that's what I would say about anything. Like, you talk about being on this show as a champion. Like, you gotta make sure when you're talking about stuff after the game that you've— you've studied and you've actually watched it. You're not just kind of, "Hey, what's going on?" And taking somebody else's opinion and twisting it in your own little flavor and all that stuff. That's it.
Absolutely. No, I think it's great. I think the one complaint that I would have about it is like, to your point, it's hard to get 100, like to think that all 100 of these people are watching all of these games right now. If you dedicated, And by the way, maybe it flips every year because it's so, like, there should be some laws in place to like, hey, we need to have proof. Like maybe you're sending in notes after the game or something. Like we need to have proof that you've been watching these games. And so maybe it's like a 25-person committee where, you know, you're voting on the awards and they got that strenuous job this year. And then someone else take on another 25, take on that strenuous job next year. But I think like, there's no way, come on, there's no way a lot of these journalists that are on the East Coast are watching us play on the West Coast when our game start at 7:30 PM and it's 10:30 and they're watching the game the whole way through.
I would say this, I do have some of the people that are on there, I do have some of 'em reach out to me and call me and they always, you know, You know, they'll tell me you're talking about defensive, all defensive team or something. And I'll always say, well, give me what you're talking, you know, who are you comparing with who first? You know, like I want— Yeah. And they do do a good job of like, here's where I got it right now. What do you think? And then I'll say, man, no way. Yes way. You're right. You know, whatever. So I think that's doing some homework and doing some research, asking some coaches or assistant coaches, guys that are watching the film every day, right? That can give them some positive feedback and hopefully they take it.
100%. Coach, man, I can't thank you enough. I'm still upset you kicked our ass. You make the call at the NBA Finals and go box and one and stifle our offense. Nonetheless, I am absolutely honored and appreciate you, appreciative of you coming on the show. It's an honor to have you on. Good luck with your journey with the 76ers. I know you'll do great things. And then also I wanna connect with you about the golf, Carroll National. Sent some, helped get some donations out. And like I said, to all of y'all out there, get your donations in. Coach is doing a great thing. Music, sports, literacy for children. Don't have to spend his time doing that, yet he is. And we know, we do better for our kids, our world become a better place. So check that out. Get your donations in. But Coach, man, I thank you so much. Thank you.
Hey, Draymond, appreciate it, man. And it's an honor to be on the show, but it's even more of an honor to compete against your great teams and against you sometimes. I know we have a couple of side downs once in a while, me and you, but we're both competitors, right?
Absolutely. And that is what happens.
Don't kick my butt, man. I'm not going, you know, you wanna jaw at me, I'm gonna jaw back. Just, but we're good, right?
We're good right there, baby. I would never cross that line, Coach. All right, man.
Be good, man. Take care. Have a great summer.
Thank you, Coach. You too.
We're this close to crowning an NBA champion. I like the Celtics, by the way, in 6. Jalen Brown's gonna be my MVP, and I love the Celtics in game 1. But sign up, 90 seconds, put in the code COLIN, C-O-L-I-N, DraftKings Sportsbook, an official sports betting partner of the NBA. If you're a new customer, bet $5, that's it. Just bet $5 and you'll get $150 instantly in bonus bets. The code COLIN, C-O-L-I-N, shows them that you're a new customer to get $150 in bonus bets only on DraftKings. The crown is yours. I'm leaning Celtics in 6, baby.
