In this episode of the Draymond Green Show, Draymond Green and an unnamed co‑host examine why European NBA players seem to receive less criticism for missing championships or under‑performing compared to U.S.-born players. They reference a Stephen A. Smith list ranking players by perceived pressure to win a title, noting that James Harden, Chris Paul, Jayson Tatum and Nikola Jokić appear, while Luka Dončić does not. The conversation explores whether media expectations differ based on nationality, race, and narrative construction, suggesting that European players may get a “free pass” while American players, especially Black athletes, face harsher scrutiny. They discuss the need for honest journalism that avoids protective narratives, and argue that players now have more control over their media presence through real‑time information and personal platforms. The hosts also touch on the idea of an All‑Star game pitting overseas talent against American players, highlighting the growing global talent pool. The episode ends with a call for viewers to subscribe to the Volumes YouTube channel.
Chapters
Why does European players not get the same flack for winning championships or not than US American-born guys? For instance, I saw a list today Stephen A put out and like, it was like the players with under the most pressure to win a championship. I think James Harden was 1, CP was 2, Jayson Tatum was 3, Joker was 4. Joker has 2 MVPs. Joker has 2 MVPs, more than likely about to be a 3rd MVP. And he's older than JT.
Mm-hmm.
Why is it that he's 4th, but JT's 3rd? And, and Luka wasn't even on the list, right? Like, now you obviously, Luka's a little younger than JT, but I feel like over the years, European players has not had the same, caught the same flak of winning a championship as US players. And I don't understand that. And I wanted to know if you feel the same way about that.
It's really a knock, to be honest.
Hmm.
Do they expect— Do they think that they're even capable of winning it by themselves?
Mm-hmm.
Do they hold them to the greatness of what they hold American players to?
Mm-hmm.
Right, so when you have a Luka, when you have a Jokic, at the end of the day, it's like, Yeah, they're good European players are coming over there dominating, but do we hold them to the same standard? So it's like they get a free easy pass, right? They get a free easy pass versus, you know, someone, you know, you know me, you know what I'm about. It's the— might be the color of the skin a little bit, you know what I mean?
Yeah.
You know, you gotta remember that the American white boy is gone. —they adapted the Black side of the game, right? They adopted the athletic part of the game. So they don't have the same fundamentals that they used to have.
Yeah.
You know what I mean? So when you name— when I see, oh, the white players, and then you put Luka in there, like, that's European. Stop. Don't try that.
I'm warning you.
That's a good start, though.
You know what I mean?
You can't say, you know, he's competing with Larry Bird. No, no, no, no, no.
Yeah.
That's Hayward. That's Kuru. So, you know, that's that group.
Yeah. Absolutely.
You know, so I think, you know, they're trying to find a way to ease the Europeans in to make it a broader game. And I don't think they want to really give them that oomph yet.
Mm-hmm.
But we're mentally built for it right now. You know, the jury is still out on the Europeans. You know, I mean, you know, we see Luka, amazing. Dirk, amazing. Peja, amazing. The ones that came over have been amazing, right? But they need to start understanding that there's a lot from everywhere. There's a lot now. I mean, you can really put an All-Star Game together, the overseas versus the American. Yeah, absolutely. You can really do that now, you know what I mean? That's the goal. You'd be surprised who's from— who's not American.
Absolutely.
Like, so, like, Shea is not American.
Yeah.
Yeah, you know what I mean? So you can really have an All-Star Game where it's so, you know what I mean, you need to play it down the middle now, you know, give the same respect to them as you do us, which means you have to put the same type of responsibility on them, just like— there's no way JT's supposed to be in this, in this conversation right now.
Yeah.
No, that wah-wah.
Yeah.
You know, he's 24, 25 years old.
Absolutely.
Like, Draymond Green is older than him, but you put more of, it's like, shut up. But that's, you know, but that's what media does, right?
Yeah.
They try to set you up so you can fail.
No, 100%. 100%. And like I said, I can agree with you 100%. Like, these Europeans today, Luka, Joker, Giannis, although Giannis accomplished the feat. Joel, and Joel's African, but just from another continent. These guys, they real guys. And they like, these guys are top 10 guys in our league.
Yeah.
Majority of them top 5, but they top 10 guys in our league. And I think, I didn't even think about it from the perspective of you saying like it's a knock. Like I didn't even think about that. But what I will say is whoever is knocking them, at some point you gotta stop. Like these guys are as good as anyone in the league, if not better. And if the thing is, oh, it's a knock and we don't hold them to that standard, that gotta go.
That gotta go.
Because, and by the way, I think Luka wants to be held to that standard. I think— Draymond Green deserves it. We know Giannis wants to be held to it. So I think these guys want to be held to that standard. And I also think, again, talking about it from a journalism standpoint, honesty, we need that back in this business. Not a narrative. Not a narrative of we don't know, we not gonna put— No, no, no, we need honesty. We need the truth back in this business. Because that is what ultimately helps grow this game. And that helps you, it helps myself, it helps everybody involved and who is touched by the game of basketball. So that's something that I hope to see. I appreciate your perspective on that. 'Cause it definitely gave me a different, a totally different perspective that I haven't thought about. But—
Man, like—
Go ahead.
As a player, like, Like, you're more control in your media space as a player. People don't realize that with someone who has their own— I would have— oh, I would have been fined my ass. I would have went live. I would have went live playing.
Just like, you know, like NBA Mike Book.
Absolutely. I'm miking myself up.
Absolutely.
I'm miking myself up, and I'm doing it, you know, myself. Like, I would've tried that, you know what I mean? I would've tried it. I would've tried some goofy shit like that. You know what I mean? Because at the end of the day, I don't need to play the footage now.
Yeah. That's true.
I can hold it. I can hold it. I can hold it. You know what I mean? It's my footage. I can be in the game doing my thang and hold that footage, right? So I would've tried that. So, you know, watching you, like, you know, you're responsible.
I appreciate that. Thank you.
You know, you're responsible. And you know me, with, hey, Underdog Fantasy, we talked about it. Yeah. Draymond Green, man, like, you know what I mean? Like, he's an active player that he has real-time information. He has real access right now. So he has a better, you gotta remember, we're dealing with secondary information.
Absolutely.
He has, A1 information right now, real time, can tell you the game, to tell you how he's feeling. That's more important. So I've already tried to send him your way. I've already sent him your way, 'cause I'm like, it's— when he's done, they're gonna buy the podcast, they're gonna do whatever. Someone's coming because he's just too good at what he does.
What's up everybody? It's Draymond Green. Make sure you subscribe to the Volumes YouTube channel below. So you don't miss any more of this great content going forward. Thank you.
