In this YouTube clip from the Draymond Green Show, NBA star Draymond Green delivers an emotional thank‑you to his longtime mentor, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, recounting how Izzo guided him from an 18‑year‑old kid in Saginaw to an NBA champion and continues to shape his life. Izzo responds with equal gratitude, sharing stories about Draymond’s family, a senior‑night plaque from Draymond’s mother, and the mutual respect that fuels their relationship. Both men discuss the importance of arguments, learning, and the desire to improve college basketball, while also looking ahead to future championships. The exchange underscores themes of mentorship, father‑figure friendship, family ties, coaching philosophy, and shared ambition.
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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. But I wanna thank you, and not for sitting down and doing this. I wanna thank you for everything that you've done in my life, for taking an 18-year-old kid from Saginaw that thought I had the answers and showing me how to become a man. And then once I thought I was a man, still continuing to show me, hey man, just because you're 22 years old now and you're making a little money, you're still not a man. And continuing to guide me in my life. Being a father figure to myself, so many other guys. Being a close friend that I can call when everything's going wrong and I feel like my life is erupting and everything is just chaos. Being the guy I can call for getting on, a flight to come see me 6 hours away for 4 hours and coming back. That stuff doesn't go unnoticed. I appreciate it. I turn around and I look at this like none of this happens for me without you. And I'm so thankful to have you in my life. It's one of my biggest bragging points in the NBA. Your coach ain't fucking like my coach. Your coach will never be like my coach. Yeah. I love telling guys that. But the reason I love saying it is because I know I can say it and I can make every argument, every valid point to show a guy that it's true. And the reality is most guys don't argue because there aren't many guys like you. You're so different. I thank you. I love you. I would do anything for you. I'll give my right arm for you.
Well, let me close this part for me by not just saying ditto, but It's not a love fest. It's not like— we've had more arguments than love fest. Respect and appreciation. And I know I wouldn't be here without some of you guys. There's 4 or 5 of you. And let's face it, Smitty started some of it for me, and then Mo, and then you and Trav, and the beat goes on. Mm-hmm. And a lot of other great players. But, you know, as coaches, we look for difference makers. You're a difference maker. You're a difference maker in the league. You're a difference maker when you argue with Charles and what you do there. And I call him and I laugh, and it always ends up the same, whether I talk to Steve or Bob or Charles or somebody else. Everybody can have one opinion. And at the end of the comment, it is, "God, you gotta love that kid, huh? God, that guy's done so much for you, right?" I said, "So I'm in my 60s and you were in your 20s, or you're in your 30s now, but I still learn from you. I want to learn more from you. I do want to talk to you about how we can make college basketball better. I do want to talk to you about what we can do around here to make it better. We got some years left, both of us." Absolutely. So I love you. I love your family. I appreciate you. And even your mom. Remember now, she said that freshman year or sophomore year, she was mad at me all the time. And I came in and told you, you got to get your mom off Twitter, man. She's killing me. And yet on senior night, she gave me a plaque that I keep in my office in my house. That was the most endearing plaque. And. I love your mom. You know, I mean, it just, it's a family affair and I appreciate you, brother. And I, I wouldn't still be here if it wasn't for you. I mean that. I, I, Mo's done a lot for me and, but you kind of carry this torch and you carry it because how you are in the NBA. Everybody laughs that I want to coach guys that are tough and it's a football team on hardwood they used to call my teams. You're still doing it, man. You're in your 30s, you're still doing it, and you're winning championships.
