Another Mailbag + Dynasty Memories!

The NBA on Prime is back this Friday with another action-packed doubleheader. It's the Celtics and Pacers followed by the Clippers and Blazers. Not a Prime member? Sign up for a 30-day free trial. Coverage starts Friday, 7:00 PM Eastern only on Prime. Restrictions apply. See amazon.com/amazonprime for details. What's up everybody? Welcome back to the Draymond Green Show. On today's show, it's a mailbag episode. You all seem to appreciate the last mailbag episode we did. Uh, so today we got mailbag and a Golden Days edition of the show. I'll be going through your questions and memories and answering everything that you guys want to know. So let's get right into it. Uh, first up, @Caleb15h. Do you have any thoughts on potentially coaching MSU once Izzo retires? If not, who do you think is a good candidate? Well, I think number one, and most importantly, it must be someone with Spartan ties. You must be, either you work, you know, you grew up as a Spartan, you played for the Spartans, you must have Spartan ties because our culture must matter. And the only way the culture continues to grow and matter and stay, you know, to the level of what coaches are built, and not only to the level, but continue to grow, is to have a Spartan in place that cares about our Spartan culture. If you're not a Spartan, you don't really care about the culture. You don't lean into that culture that's been built. So I think whoever the candidate is has to be a Spartan. As far as myself, I've always said, hell no, I'm not coaching college basketball. Yeah. The reality is, as I get older, the more I think about it, the more I look at the landscape, it's not a hell no like it used to be. So I won't rule out me one day coaching Michigan State because the one thing that's for certain is I absolutely love Michigan State. I absolutely love the Spartans. Everything about our school, university, our programs, I love. I won't say no. Right now, I don't foresee it happening. But to say the answer is no, I won't, that's not quite accurate either. So I'll kind of leave that at that. Maybe one day. 'Cause I love Michigan State, and anything that I can do to help that program, I'm usually willing to do. So. Yeah, there's that. Moving on. @ajnash, could Izzo have been an NBA coach or were his coaching methods built more for college? I think Coach Izzo's coaching methods definitely were built for college, but I think Coach Izzo is a winner. And I think winners do whatever they have to do to win and figure it out and make adjustments. And I know that he could have made the adjustments, but I do think he was more suited for college and what college has been and used to be and kind of still is in some ways. I do think, you know, it was more of a college coach, but make no mistake about it, winners win. And if he was at the NBA level, he would've found a way to win. No questions asked. @GBZRSZN, whatever the hell that says. Why do you wear number 23? And if you, if you couldn't wear number 23, what number would you wear? Well, I wear 23. Obviously we all have some remnants of Michael Jordan, MJ. I wanna be like Mike, of course. But for me, I used to wear number 32. When I committed to Michigan State, I asked Greg Kelser after I won a state championship, would you mind if I wore 32? 'Cause 32, I know most people probably think Magic Johnson has 32 retired at Michigan State. Magic Johnson actually has 33 retired at Michigan State. 32 was Greg Kelser, who also has 32 retired. And I asked Greg Kelser, I said, "Mr. Kelser, do you mind if I wear 32?" And he was like, "Ah, go create your own number, son." And I was like, "Okay." And I went and did exactly that. And now number 23 is up in the rafters. So I just flipped the numbers. 32 wasn't available, I flipped to 23. I had been 23 before in my life. You know, 23 is a cool number. 2 Stray, you know? So that's why I wear 23. And if I didn't have 23, I think, you know, now it'd be weird 'cause I'm so accustomed to Stray, you know? But if I didn't have 23, I think it'd be back to 32. Or now, you know, I'd probably put some numbers together now and try to figure something out. But— Yeah. 2332, them was my numbers. I just flipped them around. @WinstonLau2891, how did you feel when you first got your PE logo for your Nike shoes? Ecstatic, geeked up, thinking I was gonna get a signature shoe at some point. No, but it was great to get PEs, man. You get your own colorways. Like, that was a big step back in the day of being one of the Nike athletes. You get your own PEs. And so that was huge for me. And then they got, I had several PEs that, went to stores and sold and they always sold out, which was always a great feeling. So man, it's like, you know, getting your PE and your logo on your Nike shoes. It's like one of those mama made it moments, you know, like, hey man, that's my logo. You know, all the shoes I wear got my logo on it. You know, guys coming to you like, Draymond, let me get one of your PEs. Like that feels great. You know what I'm saying? So I can only imagine. What it feels like to be a signature athlete, but it's an incredible feeling. Carne Asada, 713, Houston, Texas. What was your welcome to the NBA moment? I think I had a couple of 'em that I would say my welcome to the NBA moment. One happened in preseason, Jared Jack drove down the lane, drew two defenders, dropped it off to me. I thought I had a duck. I gathered, by the time I jumped, it was two people flying over me. I just had to throw the ball up over my head like, oh shit. People close distance fast. It's just crazy. And then my second welcome to the NBA moment, which you know, you could argue is my first real one, it's not preseason. It's my first NBA bucket, getting a technical foul and getting that $2,000 fine when I was making about $7,000 every 2 weeks. That fine hurt it. It didn't stop anything because I kept getting them, but I was sick to my stomach. Yeah. That was my first welcome to the NBA moment. My first basket, my first tech. All in the same, all happened together. Very fitting. Next up, @oliver87_69, who is the funniest teammate you've ever had? I've had, man, great teammates. Funny in their own right. Maurice Space was funny as hell. Brandon Rush, funny as hell. Buddy Love, funny as hell. Barbosa in his own way, funny as hell. I've had great teammates. You know, really great group of guys. Klay Thompson is actually fucking hilarious. You know, really great group of guys. But if I had to pick one, like always funny, sometimes not even intentional, just funny, it's probably Buddy Hill. @ErgoRiguez, after you and Steph retire, what do you envision the future of the Dubs will look like? Well, you saw the email from Joe Lacob. One thing's for certain, when we retire, Joe not retire. And he will always be after a contender because he does not lose well. And I completely understand 'cause I too do not lose well. I do not, I'm not looking for great losers 'cause a loser is a loser. And so I think the Dubs will continue to go after it. It will look nothing like it's looked over the last 15 years because times change. Things just don't happen that way. But I think the Doves will always be competitive, put it back together, and be a great franchise for years and years in the future, and a franchise to be reckoned with always. @GeorgePanagiotis, what's the pettiest thing that's ever motivated you in a game? I wouldn't necessarily say what's the pettiest thing. I think for me personally, I'm always looking for something just to get me going, you know? And so it's never, I don't necessarily know what would be the pettiest, but you know, I'll find the slightest thing to push myself, to wake myself up, to get myself going. You know, you start putting words in guys' mouth like, "Oh man, you called me weak." Like, "What you talking about, man?" Like, "All right, bet." Like you just figure, you try to figure out Trying to find anything. Of course, 82 games, there's some nights you just don't have it. Do you just lay down? Not as a competitor. You try to figure it out. So for me, yeah, I would say definitely I'm always looking for some little bullshit to get me going. And it could be a referee, it could be a player, it could be a coach, it could be my coach, it could be they coach. You figure it out. I'ma find something. Yeah. @TaylorBurgermeister, what's the best back and forth you've had with a courtside fan? Oh man, I think one of the best had to be in DC some few years back. I was sleepwalking and them guys got me going in the second half, man. I finished that game with like 24 or something like that. We went on to win. Then Joe Lacob told those guys, that was right after we had beat Boston in the finals. 'Cause then Joe Lacob was like, "All right guys, we're going to Boston next. I'm gonna put you guys on the plane to Boston, let's go." Yeah, so I would say that one. You know, they were like, "Oh man, Draymond, you a bum, you this, you that." Like, "Oh really? Oh, thank you for getting me going in this dead ass gym." That is Washington Wizards home arena. Thank you. I'm about to bust y'all ass now. And I politely did and they shut the hell up and they did not want to talk anymore. And it was absolutely incredible. I made every play offensively and defensively. And yeah, I'd say that was one of the more fun ones for sure. @JeffreyCalvin71, who's the roughest and toughest person you ever had to guard in the paint who made you feel completely beat up after the game? I think anytime you play Zion Williamson, you like, Zion Williamson, it's a head-on, head-on, it's a head-on collision every play. One of the things I respect about him is he never stops going. Every time he get the ball, he's in attack and it is a collision every play. And it's full, like, I don't know if y'all understand like the force that Zion produces. And so when it's head-on, head-on collision, it's like a forceful ass, like you taking forceful ass shoulder every time. Like he's making, he's seeking the contact every time. So I've had my fair share for sure. But just as of late, as of recent, anytime you play Zion, you leave that game like, man, goddamn, I'm sore. Like it's just a head-on collision every play. Yeah. @TimMinsink, who are your top 10 best defenders in NBA history? Top 10? I don't know that there's a top 10, but I think some of the greater ones, I think, you know, you get a nickname like the Glove, you gotta be one of the better defenders. Bill Russell was a great defender. Myself, I think Tony Allen was a great defender. Ben Wallace, incredible. Dwight Howard was a great defender. A lot of people try not to give Dwight his credit as a defender. Dennis Rodman, incredible defender. By the way, I'm not giving a top 10 list. I'm just naming some names. I will leave somebody off because this is not like I just really thoroughly thought about who these names are. So take this with a grain of salt and don't be like, "Oh man, you didn't put this person, you're disrespectful." Just right off the top of the dome, just naming some of the great defenders. Dikembe Mutombo was a great defender. Yeah, those are some of my great defenders. Some of the guys. Yeah, that part. You know, you look at the— Oh, Tim Duncan. Incredible defender. I cannot leave out Tim Duncan. Scottie Pippen, incredible defender. Can't leave off Scottie, you know? So yeah, those were some of the great defenders for me. @EvanOBrien5250, what was it like working on Inside the NBA? What was your favorite moment from your time on the show? Oh man, incredible to work on that show. So such an iconic show and to have the opportunity to share the stage with those 4 guys was a dream come true for me. So fun, they make it so easy. Ernie's a point guard, he just tee you up and you, You know, you do what you gotta do. You know, Chuck's always bantering, Shaq's always picking with everybody, Kenny's the instigator. It's very fun. I think my favorite moment on the show, it's hard to pick a favorite moment. I was so grateful to be on that show. But I think one of the moments that stuck out to me most is when they brought those live rodents on the show. Oh, yeah. Just was a very uncomfortable moment for me. @Leo, what are your thoughts on the NBA Cup? Do you think it's dumb to hang an NBA Cup banner in the arena next to your NBA championship banners? I think if, you know, I have my reasons on why I think you shouldn't hang an NBA Cup banner, but the fact of the matter is if we never hang a banner for it, then does it ever really matter? So I actually think the NBA should make it a thing. Like, we're delivering the banner to you and you're gonna hang it. Because how does it ever become anything if you never hang any banners for it? So I would encourage the NBA that if you want this to be what it's grown into and could possibly continue to grow into, it should be required for people to hang banners, or how does it ever grow? It's just my opinion. Last up. @Muhammad, what's your favorite Christmas vacation story? Christmas vacation, what the fuck is that? Hmm? Sorry Muhammad, but I have not had a Christmas vacation. Oh, actually I'll give you one. My favorite Christmas vacation story, when I was suspended a couple years ago, I had just had my 2-year-old and I was suspended and able to spend time with her. And that was the first time I experienced a Christmas day of not going into a basketball arena or having to be back at college for practice since my senior year of high school. My freshman year in the NBA, we had practice that day on Christmas Day because we played on the 26th or something like that. So yeah, Christmas vacation, I wish. Look forward to it one day though, Mohamed. But that has not been in my past. And I don't know that it's in my near future. Hey, Draymond here. The NBA on Prime is back this Friday with another action-packed doubleheader. The night starts with Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics going toe to toe with Pascal Siakam and the Indiana Pacers. Then James Harden and the Los Angeles Clippers head north to face Jrue Holiday and the Portland Trail Blazers. And if you're not a Prime member, that's not a problem. Sign up for a 30-day free trial to get started today. The Celtics and Pacers, the Clippers and Blazers, this Friday's doubleheader is stacked. Stack. Expect fireworks from tip-off to buzzer. Coverage starts this Friday at 7:00 PM Eastern only on Prime. Restrictions apply. See amazon.com/amazonprime for details. In our Golden Days segment on today's episode, we will answer a few questions today. Take a memory, a trip down memory lane on these golden days. First up from Giovanni. Hey Dray, one of my favorite memories of the Warriors' last 14 years would have to be your game-winning layup against the Big 3 Miami Heat back in 2012-13. That was before the championships and against one of the best teams of all time. And that game in there was future signs of greatness for GSW. I agree with you, Ivani. That was definitely the start of it. I can tell you going back to that game, we had got off to a pretty decent start that season. That was my rookie year. So if you remember correctly, the year before the team won 23 wins, you know, I was drafted, Festus was drafted, Harrison Barnes was drafted. Andrew Bogut was healthy for the first time since being traded for the most part. You know, so we started putting the team together. Karl Landry had came over to the team. Jared Jack had came over to the team. You know, we're starting to put it all together. And, you know, 12, 13, the Miami Heat are defending champions. And then, you know, we go in and we beat them. And at that time, you know, we're off to a good start. So we're like, oh, it's true. Like we do have a chance to be good. And we are putting this together. We are becoming a serious team to be reckoned with. Didn't know that it would lead to building a dynasty and what it's become, but— Yeah. That game was definitely like one of those confidence boosters. Like, oh yeah, we can really compete with the best of the best. And I think it was a future sign of greatness and what was to come. But I remember that moment, man. We drove to play, Steph and Klay coming off the pin downs, Shane Battier hedged out, Jerry Jack hit me on the slip. I laid it up, man. I was supposed to walk like I had crazy swag. I started running with my hands up. I was so damn excited. First game winner against the Heat. Man, what? First time playing against Bron, D-Wade, all those guys, I was geeked. So that was a big moment for me and a huge moment for our team. Next up from John, Draymond, can you reflect on your triple double without points? Do you think it is one of your better triple doubles? Yeah, I think it's definitely one of the better triple doubles, just be that I got it without points. It's crazy, John, because By the time I realized, like, I would've tried to get a couple more baskets, but I didn't realize it. Like, I didn't know. By the time I realized it, it was too late, and I just would've been out there chasing points looking crazy. But it was, it's crazy because you can get in a rhythm offensively, just like, defensively, just like you can get in a rhythm offensively. And I felt like I was in such a crazy rhythm that game. Defensively. Like anytime, like I'm just Johnny on the spot. I'm in the right spot at all times. Like anytime I reached, I got my hand on the ball. Like it didn't matter. Like I just was Johnny on the spot and in a crazy rhythm. And so, you know, to have that game, get a triple-double without points, I was like, yo, that's wild. Like I had no idea, but I will tell you, I wish I had known, Jon, because it would've been much better to get the quadruple-double. I would've absolutely loved to do that, but I didn't know. Yeah. And history is history. And I made history as the only player to ever get a triple double without points. So I can appreciate being a part of history. Anytime you can be in history in the NBA, you take it. So I can still appreciate it, but goddamn it, John. From Harker Rock. Hey there, Draymond, big friend from NYC. So Draymond, one thing common from recent championships is these are teams that were contenders for a couple years before they won. They had times where they came close but lost. However, they eventually got over the hump. That wasn't the case for the Warriors. You guys went from being a 6th seed in the first round exit in 2014 to the best team in the league the next season and winning 73 games the season after. What happened over the summer of 2014 that just changed everything? Well, I'm gonna take you back. I don't think we didn't struggle and didn't get over the hump because my rookie year, which was 2012-13, We lost in the second round to the Spurs after having a 2-1 lead and then, and a 20-point lead in game 4 while being up 2-1 on the road. And we blew that lead and blew that game and they went on to go win the next 3 and beat us. But that was a championship team and they had competed for championships prior to that. So that's how my first year ended. We beat the Nuggets in the first round, lose to the Spurs in 6 in the second round. Coming back after you go to the second round, you come back, you're pretty excited. Like, "Oh man, this is our chance to grow." We lose to the Clippers in round 1 in 7 games. So again, feeling like, "Man, we right there, we can get over the hump." So I don't think that it wasn't necessarily a struggle for us getting closer the first 2 years and then kind of getting over the hump. But a couple things happened. Steve Kerr took over. Mm-hmm. Kerr brought in a way of winning that none of us had ever experienced. He had won at a level that none of us had ever won at. And he brought that to the fold. He brought a new offense to the fold that really unlocked and unleashed Steph Curry and Klay Thompson and myself. I started, David Lee got hurt, I started, you know, that changed some things. Shawn Livingston signed to the Warriors. Andre Iguodala the year before signed to the Warriors. You know, I think there were several things that happened, you know, getting Leandro Barbosa, Maurice Spates, like we shored up our bench, we had incredible depth, you know? And so Ian Clark was on that bench, Justin Holliday, Ian Clark may have been later, you know, but we shored up our bench, we had great depth, you know? And so I think just like the other teams that was trying to get over the hump and didn't the first time, I think it was a little bit of the same for us. We didn't quite get to the conference finals or anything like that, but yet we were also, threatening to get to the conference finals in my rookie year. And you know, we blew game 4 and the rest was history. So I think we kind of had similar paths, not quite the struggle of getting this far, but couple years of making the playoffs, not quite getting over the hump and then getting over the hump finally in 2015. Yeah, I think that was our struggles and our stories and some things happened in between that. That kind of changed the course of history. And as a wise man once said, the rest is history. So that's it for the Golden Days for this episode. That is also an entire wrap for this episode as a whole. Wanna wish everybody a Merry Christmas. Thank you all for tuning in to the Draymond Green Show. Until next time, that's a wrap. Deuces. If you're rocking with the Draymond Green Show, be sure to click follow on your favorite podcast app. Podcast app. And while you're there, go ahead and drop a 5-star rating and leave a review. I wanna hear what you think. And it would also mean a ton to me if you share it with a friend that you think would enjoy it. Let's keep this thing growing. The Draymond Green Show is presented by Audacy and executive produced in conjunction with The New Media. Our executive producers are Leah Reese Dennis, Danny Freisinger, and Greg Hoseman.