Draymond GreenForward, Golden State Warriors

"Don't Have Many of Those": Draymond Green’s On-Court Advice to Darius Acuff

13 Oct 2026 · 1 min

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1:12

In a brief on‑court mentorship segment, Draymond Green reflects on a recent possession where rookie Darius Ayton held the ball for the entire play and was eventually fouled at the rim. Green uses the moment to warn Ayton about the dangers of monopolizing possessions, especially on teams lacking clear direction, such as the Sacramento Kings. He explains how excessive ball‑handling can foster bad habits when no veteran voices intervene, and how it can trigger internal politics—teammates may plot against a rookie, bicker, or resist putting him in optimal positions. Green emphasizes that while having the ball every possession may seem advantageous, without guidance it can hinder growth. He stresses the critical role of veteran mentorship in correcting habits and navigating team dynamics, offering Ayton a concise lesson to remember that specific possession as a learning point.

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The broadcast showed me having a moment with Darius Ayton. I saw something in that game that he had the ball the entire possession. Ultimately down the stretch, late in the possession, he ended up getting fouled at the rim. But my advice to him was just, hey man, you remember that possession, which is why I was doing this, right? And then he asked me, he's like, oh yeah. I'm like, who else touched the ball that possession? He like, nobody. Don't have many of those. Because you can end up having a bunch of those with the Sacramento Kings this year. And a few things can happen. You can get guys start plotting against you. Guys that don't really wanna see you do well. Guys that start bickering on the side to other guys. Guys that try not to put you in the best possible position to be successful. You can get guys that get upset like, oh man, they wanna get this rookie this, they wanna do that, fuck that, right? And they get pissed off. And then by the way, when you're on bad teams, teams that are trying to figure out a direction, you could be in a situation where no vets are even talking to you. Whereas people see like, oh man, you gonna have the ball every possession. That's great. Yeah, that's all great and fine and dandy until you start creating bad habits and there's no one really there to correct it. Right. And so for me, you know, when I saw that, you know, I just wanted to give him a little game about that.