Draymond GreenForward, Golden State Warriors

Draymond Defends Nick "Swaggy P" Young's Role Helping The Warriors Win The 2018 NBA Championship

21 Nov 2025 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

0:58

In this YouTube monologue, Warriors forward Draymond Green addresses criticisms from former NBA players Kenyon Martin and Rashad McCants regarding Nick "Swaggy P" Young’s contribution to the Golden State Warriors’ 2018 NBA championship. Green argues that championship success depends not only on the primary stars—himself, Stephen Curry, and Klay Thompson—but also on what he terms “swing players,” who can shift the momentum of a series. He cites Young’s defensive assignments on James Harden and clutch three‑point shooting in Games 6 and 7 of the Western Conference Finals against the Houston Rockets as evidence that Young swung that series, thereby earning a legitimate role in the title run. Green contrasts this with the New Jersey Nets’ reliance on Kenyon Martin, suggesting Martin failed to swing his series, leading to the Nets’ loss. The tone is conversational and defensive, with a supportive sentiment toward Young and dismissive attitude toward his critics.

Chapters

One thing I wanna share with Kenyon Martin and Rashad McCants, you know, a couple guys who tries to attack Nick Young about his NBA championship is this. I know you guys don't understand what it means to win an NBA championship. So in an NBA championship, you have your guys who has to deliver. Me, Steph, and Klay, we had to deliver. And then you have all your guys who like play a role. What I like to call them is swing players. As opposed to role players, I like to call them swing players. Your job is to swing one series. And so when you go look at our championship run that Nick Young was a part of, Nick Young Nick Young was the swing player in the Houston series. Game 6 and 7, Nick Young was one of the primary defenders on James Harden. Nick Young hit big threes. He swung the series for us. Guess what? Job done. When you talk about winning a championship, he swung the series. What the New Jersey Nets needed Kenyon Martin to do. They needed you to swing the series, but you couldn't swing the series, so y'all lost. Y'all got smacked. Woo!