Draymond Green and Sheryl Swoopes Preview WNBA Finals: Valkyries vs Dream & Series X-Factors

What's up everybody? Welcome back to the Draymond Green Show. The WNBA Finals starts tomorrow. So it was only right for us to get one of the greatest to ever play the game. 4-time champion, 3-time MVP, 2-time Olympic gold medalist. I am a huge fan. Let me just throw that out there right now. Thank you. I'm fanning out a little bit 'cause this take me back. to my childhood. Uh, Sheryl Swoopes is joining us today. We're going to break down the Finals. Uh, we're going to chop it up about the state of women's basketball, and we'll also talk some GOATs, because when you are in the presence of GOATs, you talk GOATs. So, Sheryl, I appreciate you coming on.

Dray, you know, the feeling's mutual. I'm a huge fan as well. I appreciate you having me. There's one thing that I don't know how I feel about, because you said this takes you back to your childhood. So that means you're— that means you're telling my age right now.

I'm sorry. But it's all

good. I am really honored to be here with you today. So thank you.

Thank you. I appreciate it. You know, I've been a— I've actually been a fan of The W since year one. My aunt, played basketball. She was really incredible growing up. And she played overseas. And then in the first year of the W, she was getting older and she tried out for the Shock. And she was the last cut of the Shock. And so her name is Annette Baber. So I've watched, I've watched the W since the very beginning.

I love that.

So to watch—

'Cause she knows what the journey and everything was about playing overseas before we got the WNBA.

One thing. Absolutely. 1,000%.

I love that.

I remember dropping her off at DTW and her flying back to Turkey. Like, I remember all of those things. Literally, I remember when she was overseas and the first time she came home and knocked on my grandmother's window, I ran to the window. Like, I remember all that.

You're like, she's back. I love that. Wow.

That's one of my favorite people. So, uh, it's really close. It hits really close to home for me.

Well, here's one thing I do know. Um, I don't, I don't know if you were a Comets fan or not, but I do know, I do know you were a fan of the W. And you know, before, before Kobe passed, God rest his soul, everybody would talk about you know, NBA players, in particular Kobe, right? Mmhmm. How he was always present, how he always showed up, how he was promoting the game, and rightfully so. But I want to go back, you know, and just say thank you to all of the NBA dudes who were around even before, you know, Kobe was front and center. I know playing in Houston, we had Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley, Moochie Norris, Tracy McGrady. You know, so I know all of you guys have always been there, always been around, always been fans, always supported. So I just want to take this time to say thank you for always being there and showing support.

Absolutely. No, it's a pleasure. And you know what I always tell people is, if you ever want to learn the game of basketball, like, you want to learn how to play, you want to learn what the actual fundamentals of the game of basketball Watch the W, don't watch the NBA. Like, if you really want to learn about the game, that's basketball played the right way. So I, I've always loved that.

Well, so I, I've said that, but of course, you know, people look at me and they're like, yeah, you're crazy. Or, or they're either like, well, of course you have to say that. But I've said that a lot of times, and, and to me, what I mean by that is just fundamentally, because we don't really play above the rim.

Yes.

Right? So, so we take the time in the offseason, like we're really working on our craft as far as like our shot and the technique and, you know, the ball handling. And when you say that's real basketball, I think when you watch the W versus watching the NBA, you're getting— typically you're getting more 5-on-5 Yes. Versus the NBA, it's a lot of 1-on-1 or 1-on-3, sometimes 1-on-5. Uh, but I do, I, I totally agree with you, and that's no knock on the NBA. I, I think it's great basketball on, on both sides. So maybe the fact that you're saying that, people will listen.

Well, you know, they get mad at everything I say anyway, so they probably won't listen

to me either. You and me both. You and me both. I can't say nothing.

Yeah, same thing, same here. But I'm gonna say— But I do anyway. Keep it pushing.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That part. But I do anyway.

Exactly. I've had some instances where I've said some things and players in the W get mad. And I want— I have a question that I wanna ask, but I'm not sure if the question comes off as a personal attack. So I'm gonna ask you this question and I want you to tell me if it comes off as kind of personal. But the question that I wanted to ask was, you know, for the audience out there that has not watched The W, is it a disrespectful question to ask you why should they be watching these finals that's coming up? And what makes this finals matchup unique? Because I've been told in asking a question like that, it's almost a slight of like, oh, you're— Really? I've gotten, you know, I got some friends in the W now. C. Gray, that's my homegirl. I love C. Gray, right? Like I got some friends, but there's been some instances where I said a couple and they're like, that's a slight to us. So I wanted to ask, like, why should people watch these finals and what makes it unique? But if it's a disrespectful question, I'll take it back because I don't want anyone getting mad at me.

Huh. It's an interesting question, right? So, so I'll say this. If, if you're asking me that question, I personally, I don't feel disrespected, right? Um, because I think we're always, or we should always be trying to grow the game, right?

I agree.

The more people that we can educate about the game, the more people we can educate about the players, the more the game's gonna grow. The other side of that, the other side of that is I can see how some players might feel slighted or disrespected only because— I'm gonna ask you this question. Do people say, when it comes to the NBA Finals, do people say, why should fans watch the NBA Finals?

I, I don't, I don't think people say it as much when stars are involved. For instance, when it's Steph Curry against LeBron, LeBron James.

Of course, people are watching.

I think people are, but I do think when it was OKC versus Indiana, you know, and Shai was kind of just blossoming into the MVP, right? Like that's before he wins his first MVP. You know, Holly's becoming who he is and obviously he gets hurt. I do think people were saying it then, you know? So I think it's more when the stars are involved as opposed to when they aren't. Like you may get that question in the NBA. As opposed to like, if it's LeBron and Steph, that's why they watching.

Great point. And it's a great point. So that's why I say I don't get offended. But so if you ask me, why should an ordinary fan, or maybe someone who's gone to a couple of WNBA games, or maybe someone who's never watched, why should they watch these finals, right? Because I don't think anybody the beginning of this season had Golden State Valkyries and Atlanta Dream in the finals.

Not at all.

It was— and you— because you always have to think about the defending champions. Absolutely. So of course it was Las Vegas Aces, New York Liberty. Some people even had Indiana Fever, right?

Yeah.

So I would say to someone— I, I love the question. If I'm walking down the street or somewhere and someone says to me, why should I watch the Finals? There's so much stuff I can tell them about the Finals. the teams, the players, why you should be excited, why you should be interested, and why you should tune in. And so, you know, the thing I want even current players today to know is don't ever get to a point to where you feel like we, we're, we're there, right? We have enough fans, we have enough people watching. You should always want to educate and, and Find a way to bring more fans. Like, this storyline itself with the Golden State Valkyries, they are the fastest expansion team to ever make the Finals.

Mm-hmm. Crazy, by the way.

That's crazy to me.

Insane.

That's crazy to me. But that excites me. You know, I, I love Asia. I love the Aces. I love Stewie. But I'm so excited, Dray, that we have 2 new teams in the Finals. That means the game is growing. That means the talent level is— Crazy.

You

know,

I—

yeah, I can talk about Angel Reese. You, you should tune into the Finals because of Angel Reese, right? All the flack, all the stuff. Can I say shit? I don't know. I did.

You could. On this podcast, we say shit. We say damn. We say fuck. We say everything. OK. Great.

Wonderful. I love it.

And excuse my language, because if my mom say— if my mom hear I just said that to you, she gonna crush me. But I was just trying to help. So I'm sorry.

Tell Mama I was OK with it.

Okay, I'mma let her know.

So, because— and, and I say that because all the shit that Angel Reese has taken since she got into this league, and for her to be playing in the Finals, tune in and watch, because she's— she, she alone is worth the price of the ticket, right? Then I go down the— I can go down the list of Ryan Howard. There's a story behind her. Jordan Canada, and then on the Valkyrie side, Veronica Burton's a player who was almost not in this league.

Yes, right?

She's at Connecticut. She gets waived. She goes to Dallas. She gets cut. Natalie Nakase says, "I I uh uh. There's something in you." I've supported V.B. since she got in the league. I love everything she does. Her story. There's so many people out there that could probably relate to. of Veronica Burton's story more so than an A'ja Wilson story, right?

Absolutely. That's a fact.

That's why you should watch.

Only you and Cynthia Cooper and LeBron James, um, can relate to A'ja Wilson's story.

No, but that, you know, that's why you should watch. Like, so many of these players are like the girl next door, somebody you grew up with, and to see I'm using Veronica because to see her resilience and her fight and her never-say-die attitude of, I don't care if you don't believe in me. I believe in myself. There is a place for me. And she has found a home with the Valkyries. I can't tell you how excited I am about the Jordan Canada, Veronica Burton matchup.

Like— That's going to be good.

If y'all can't hear the excitement in my voice, then you just might— you must not have ears because these finals, I think are going to be one of the best that we've seen. I really do.

I agree. I agree. And I think this arena, Chase Center, Ballhalla as they call it, it's gonna be so electric. Like when I was in that arena the other day for the Aces and Valkyries game, what it reminded me of, and I was telling the guys, they were like, man, this reminds me of Oracle. I said, no, no, no, this doesn't remind me of Oracle. reminds me of is old Oracle. It don't remind me of Oracle when we left Oracle. It reminded me of Oracle in 2013 when we first made the playoffs and they had to shut the music down during the warmups because it sounded muffled because the fans were chanting so loud.

Yeah.

During warmups with 20 minutes to go on the clock. That's what this Ballhalla reminds me of. It reminds me of old Oracle before we became successful

and

the ticket prices went crazy. That's what this reminds me of. It's electric in that place.

So I got to tell you this. I have to confess, I have not been. I'm so excited to be there in person because even watching it on TV, you can feel the energy, right? I'm so excited to be inside the arena. And listen, as a former player, And as an opponent, those are arenas you love to play in, right? You love to play in front of crowds like that. But I gotta tell you, that's intimidating.

Yeah, it is. It is

intimidating.

1,000%. I've always loved going on the road and shutting the crowd up. And I must tell you, like, I've been at this point, I think that was my 6th NBA Finals against Boston. And game 3 against Boston, that crowd had me running. Like I was a bit, I

had

to like go back, going back into game 4 and then game 6, I had to readjust my mental because game 3, that crowd had me rattled. And so it, but these are the environments that you do it for, you know?

Oh, 100%.

I like, I went to my first, I actually hadn't gone to a game. I went to my first game a couple months ago. I went with Joe and then I went to the game, the playoff game against the Aces, but I've only been to 2 games in there and it is, It's intense. Like, I'm looking forward to it.

I, I just— I don't know. Somebody asked me, and I know we have probably haven't gotten to it, they're like, who, who are you taking? Who are you picking, Golden State or— I don't know. Like, I, I really honestly don't know. There's, there's stuff about Atlanta that I'm like, if they do X, Y, and Z, they're gonna win. There's stuff about Golden State I'm like, if they can do X, Y, Z, they're gonna win. I think these 2 teams match up so well, even though, let me point this out, even though the Valkyries swept Atlanta in the regular season.

Yes, they did. 3-0.

But that don't mean shit.

Oh, I was going to ask you that.

The Aces swept Golden State in the regular season. Yes, they did. And you see what Golden State just did to the Aces.

Got they lick back.

I mean, you know, when it comes to, to playoffs, it doesn't matter what happened in the regular season. It's, it's a completely different season. Um, listen, Natalie had Golden State— they're, they're just clicking on all the right cylinders right now. And what I really, really love about this team, it's not to say they don't have superstars. Because Gabby Williams is a superstar for those who really know basketball, right?

Yeah. And she's— and if you— and if you want to act like you don't know the W, Gabby Williams is an international basketball star.

Yes.

Like, she— yeah, she is a star here. She is a star there. She is an international basketball star.

100%. She is.

Yes.

But if you— if you're walking down the street and you say, you know, name me 5 WNBA players, Her name probably isn't going to be one of the 5.

No, it won't be.

Right? So what I love about this team is you have players who— because they're an expansion team, right? Most of these players came from teams that they were role players on. They came off the bench, maybe didn't get a lot of minutes, right? But when you put all of that talent together on this team, Which, I'll be honest, when Natalie— when, when the Valkyries did their expansion draft, Mmhmm. I looked at the roster and I was like, hmm, interesting. It's going to be a while before they will compete for a championship. Like, I said that 3 years ago because it's just been 3 years. And here we are, like, I'm eating my words because they're playing for a championship.

Yes, they are.

Like, credit to Natalie, credit to the players. They bought in immediately to her system, to what she, what she brings, and they're just so much fun to watch.

Yes. You know, I, you know what, so one, one storyline or thing that I find interesting, and you just hinted at a little bit, they don't have the A'ja Wilson, the Nafissa Collier, you know, from, from a name standpoint, the Breanna Stewart, like Sabrina. They don't have that big name per se outside of what people would say is the big name, right? Obviously, we just spoke about Gabby. But now, and I ask you this from experience, your personal experience, but also from my perspective a bit as well. So now say the Valkyries do win it, right?

Mm-hmm.

But they don't have the big name yet. How does that ultimately affect them in the long run? Because for instance, you got Nafisa Collier's a free agent this summer, right? Yeah. And I know a lot of people saying, hey, that could be a landing spot for her.

Yeah.

You know, you got these different names coming up that's big free agents that all of a sudden the Valkyries win and they may look at it now like, well, I can't go there. You know, how does, if the Valkyries win this year, how does it affect them in the long run? Or can they ultimately just keep at the same rate Once teams start studying and preparing for them? Because coming into this year, you know, you know how it go. Teams— when teams are preparing the whole offseason to beat you,

oh yeah,

it's different the following year. So how does that affect the Valkyries moving forward if they were to win this championship?

Well, here, here's what, what I think, and, and you know this as well. When you win a championship, that following season, everybody's coming for you.

Everybody.

You have what they want. So being that team, it's also important that you're always trying to add more to what you already have. And you used Nafissa, so I'll just use her as well. Nafissa Collier is one of the best in the league.

Yes, she is.

Does Nafissa Collier fit what Golden State already has, what they need, what they're trying to do. It's just a question, right? I— because I, because I don't know that. And to your point, there are several big free agents, uh, you know, Kelsey Mitchell.

Absolutely.

Everybody's talking about Kelsey Mitchell's leaving. Can Kelsey Mitchell going to Golden State— does it make them better? 100% it does. But I think there's so much more that goes into figuring out which free agent you want to go after based off of— Yes. One, like you said, if you win it based off of what you already have, you are able to win it. But what you also have to take into consideration— I'll just— like the Aces. Yes, they swept the Aces. The Aces will get better next year, right?

Absolutely.

So if I'm Golden State, I'm like, there are certain teams and players that I think about in the offseason, like, what do we need to combat an A'ja Wilson? Because just because you swept them this year, that doesn't mean you have or had the answer for, for her. Do you know what I mean?

Absolutely. 1,000%.

I do think you have to take those types of things into consideration, but And, and if I'm a free agent, I'm looking at Golden State saying, I'm only going to make them better, right? Like, this could be a good spot for me because not only am I going to make them better, but I'm going to have a chance to win a championship.

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who

wants to see her fail.

Say that.

And they're going to watch to see her fail, which is great. Great. Come on. Come watch for the league. More eyes.

Yes.

Absolutely. So come on and cheer against us. But they're going to watch because they want to see her fail. So I think that also brings something to this matchup. But when you're looking at this matchup, obviously, Top dog, Angel. Top dog, uh, especially with Alicia Gray out. Top dog, Angel. Top dog, Gabby. I always like to say in a series, when you look at role players— Yeah. I don't call them role players in a series. I call them swing players because I feel like you need that one role player that's going to swing the series, yo. And by the way, it may be one game in that series that that role player come through Yeah. And they swing the series.

Yeah.

Who do you look at on both of these teams that's going to swing the series one way or the other for these, for these 2 teams?

Ooh. Um, dang. So here, let me just say this. I think Kia Stokes is having the best season she's had in the WNBA since she became a pro.

Yes, she is.

Angel's— the best thing Angel Reese does is rebound the basketball. There's, there's no secret to that.

Absolutely.

Defense Player of the Year. She's a hell of a defender. Kia Stokes is going to have her hands full keeping Angel Reese off the glass because Angel's, Angel's just gonna find a way to go get it, right?

Yeah, she is.

I, I think to me Tiffany Hayes isn't a role player. But Tiffany Hayes coming in off the bench completely changes the game. I think she's going to be huge, Dre, and especially going on the road, right? Because at home you expect your bench players, your— you call them swing players, your role players, whatever you want to call them, you expect them to show up at home.

Mm-hmm.

But on the road, can they take that same Mentality, will their game travel, all those things. So I think Tiffany Hayes will be a huge player in determining how they, how they play on the road. One other player I want to mention for Golden State, I know you said one, but Janelle Salan, who was 6th Player of the Year.

Yes.

And flat out shoot the rock. I do not think Janelle had a good first round or second round.

Not at all.

Versus the Aces.

She struggled bad against the Aces.

She's gonna have to show up and shoot the basketball. She has to. When I look at Atlanta, you, you, you know what Angel's gonna do, and Angel's gonna do it at home or on the road, right?

Yes, absolutely.

Ryan Howard, I think, is playing really well right now. Ryan's gonna have to bring it. I am going to go with Jordan Cannon. Love her, love her. I'm gonna go with the OG, DeJuana Bonner.

Ah, whoo, that's nice. Battle-tested on the road, my game travel.

Yeah, she's won a championship. She know what it takes. She knows. And, and they need that, right? Fine. I mean, playoffs are great, but finals, that's even different. Like, the mentality is different. Um, it's, it's— you're playing for all the chips. And I think Dawanna Bonner can lead this Atlanta Dream team to where they're trying to get to. So I'm going to put all the pressure on my OG, Dawanna Bonner, and say she could be the difference.

I love that. You know why I love that also? And you mentioned it with Tip originally. And Tip is, you know, she's done it all. She's won in college. She's, you know, won at a high level in the WNBA. WNBA champion, all right? I always tell people, having someone that knows how is one of the biggest weapons you can have when it comes down to a series, when it comes down to a Finals. Having somebody that know how that says, oh, oh, they doing this. Well, I faced— when last time I saw somebody do this, here's how we can combat that. And we do this, they don't have an answer. You know, like having someone that know how. So between Tip and— you couldn't have said that any better. Wow. And by the way, I couldn't, I couldn't say it, but what you just— that just changed.

No, you could say it. But also look at this, because you also have 2 coaches who've never been here. They've never been here. So, you know, when you get in timeouts, of course coaches gonna say their thing, but DeJuana is talking to the team, Tip is talking to the team like, y'all, This, this is what the environment's going to be like. This is, this is what we're going to feel. These are the emotions, but we got it. So I, I think those two, both teams are going to really count on them a lot.

Yeah, no, I can agree with that. And from a coach's side, you know, the first time we won the championship in 2015, um, obviously none of us had experience in winning a championship.

Yeah,

even competing for one for that matter. I think the person who had come the closest on our team during that time was maybe Barbosa, who had been to the Western Conference Finals once. You know, Andre Iguodala maybe had been to the Eastern Conference Finals with Philly once, maybe. But we didn't have anyone that had competed at that level. And the one person we did have, obviously opposite of them, was Steve Kerr.

Yep.

So he was the adult in the room like, hey, So just so y'all know, practice is going to be different. We have to practice at the arena. The media is coming in 30 minutes at the end of practice. When we go on the road, we got to practice at their arena. It's going to push our practice time back. Media is going to be in there. Oh, by the way, these things are going to happen when people are coming in town. Yes. This is like just having his perspective. It was everything. And so for them to have their perspective, I think it makes a world of a difference.

Yeah, because, you know, when they get on the court, they throw the ball up, it's basketball. But it's all the, the extra stuff. It's all the other stuff where everybody wants a piece of you and, and you having to learn and know how to balance all of that and, and learn how to say no, right?

Yes, absolutely.

No, I, I can't. Even if that's no to your friends, to your family, to your mom, to your dad. Like, your focus is— you, you have 7 games.

Yes.

That's it.

Absolutely. And, and I'm locked in on that thing. I don't need anything else. I, I just got this thing. Give me 2 weeks. We'll talk about it in 2 weeks.

That's it.

But I need these 2 weeks.

And hopefully we're talking about, I won a championship, right?

Exactly. Exactly. And switching gears a little bit, um, Before we switch gears, I have to ask this question. Some names are made for basketball. Some names are made for football. Sheryl Swoopes. Swoopes. Like, I feel like that, like, you were gonna be a great basketball— like, the name just, it goes so— now think about the swoosh, right? Like, it It just flows so perfect. And I just wanted to throw that out there. Like, is Swoopes your family name? Like,

that's my real name. I was gonna say, like, a lot of people thought, like, growing up, they thought it was my nickname. Because to your point, they're like, Swoopes, hoops, like, it, it just has a whole basketball ring to it. And I was like, absolutely, my real name. It's my— that's my daddy's name.

That's, that's incredible.

Yeah, I know. I was like, dang, how did you know I was gonna Grow up to be a basketball player.

And be great. And

like,

like some names are just destined for greatness. And I just think it is. So I just had to throw that out there because again, my little 8-year-old self was like, wow, look at that. That name, like, wow, of course.

Hoops, Hoops. I heard all, I heard all of the jokes growing up and I was like, y'all, that's my real name. It's not a nickname. It's not a made-up name. Yeah.

And it fits.

It just happens to fit.

It fits really well. It fits really well. We've seen so much attention over the last few years around women's basketball. And by the way, that's the W, that's college women's basketball, just around the sport as a whole. You look at the World Cup, just like around the sport as a whole, we've seen it. Garner so much attention. Uh, from your perspective, what would you say has really changed to where the W and women's basketball as a whole is kind of at the forefront?

Um, you know, a lot of people have said like the talent level is so good, and like, I'm not knocking it, it is. But I will also say Like, I feel like the talent level's always been good, right? Like— Absolutely. We've always had ballers. Like, we could just hoop. I think a couple of things. I think it's finally— like, people are finally saying it's cool to say, I watch the WNBA. Like, I support the WNBA. Because back in the day, we had— like I said, you guys came out and you watched. But back in the day, it really wasn't a conversation piece where— Dudes were wearing our jerseys, getting together, going to watch the game to say, y'all, let's go catch a WNBA game. And today— That's right. It happens. Like, everybody's like, y'all going to watch the game tonight? And it's not, what game, right? Like, you know it's the WNBA game. But the second thing is— Mm-hmm. Just like brands and sponsors. People have finally, like, looked at these women and said, yeah, they're great basketball players, but there's way more to them than just a basketball player. And we want a piece. We want them to be a part of our brand, of our company, of what we're doing. And I think anytime you can get big-name brands, sponsorships to jump on board and invest in women, I think, one, it's a smart decision. But two, it's only going to help grow the league.

Absolutely.

And then you throw the talent on top of that, right? Last— Dray, let me also say this last thing, social media. Like, you— and honestly, I'm glad we didn't have social media back then like y'all do today, because I don't know if I could deal with a lot of the stuff that happens on social media.

I'll tell you, I'd rather be back then.

It's crazy. But also, but it's a good thing, because it gives fans, whether they like you or not, it gives them a place where they feel like they know you. Mm-hmm. Right? And, and they can— they try to interact with you, they can interact with you. But also for the players, it gives them a place where they can just be themselves, right? It's like, this is, this is who I am. And, and, and fans really can connect to them like that, and they can relate to them like that. And I just, I think the game is in such a great place right now. But, you know, we have to keep doing what we're doing to help make it continue to grow.

Do you think, like, we never really— of the ladies that are in the W that are mothers, we hardly hear about them being mothers, or, you know, we hardly highlight them with their children. Do you think that's a personal thing for the women in the W, Or do you think the sport and the media and all the attention hasn't reached the place yet of where they're ready to talk about a woman as a mother and a basketball player because they still want to, in a sense, try to condemn? Like, hey, you're not focused on basketball. Well, this is my child, right? Where do you think that line falls?

Um, so when, when I get asked stuff like that, I'm like, not that I'm torn, but I go to the thing of, do you, do you ask the dads in the NBA, like, what does it mean to be a dad? How does it feel to be a dad? I, I think for the women in the W, like I said, there's so many things that we do. Being a mom, like, even for myself when I had Jordan, That was my top priority. Like, basketball was second. Oh, that's interesting. It didn't matter because I was going to be a mom first. I, I do think it's important for women out there in corporate America, just women in the world, but also for dads, for men.

Yeah.

I think it is important that we talk about that so they understand How we multitask.

Yes.

I remember when I had Jordan, there was a part of me that was like, oh my goodness, I'm a mom. That shit is scary. There is no, let's call a timeout and draw up a play and teach me how to feed my son, how to change his diaper, how to take care of him. No. Yeah. Like, you, you, you just do it. And the reason why I think that's important is because there are so many women out here today who are struggling with being a mom or having a career, like feeling like they have to make a choice or sacrifice one or the other. And when I look at all of these amazing women and amazing moms in the WNBA and I see what they're doing, I'm like, we are some badass women to be able to do what we're doing. I don't think it's something where, in a press conference or whatever, you just have to bring up, oh, Skylar, you're a mom. How does that feel? Like, that's— not like that. Yes. But I think it's something that should get more attention than they are getting. Because to me, being a mother is the hardest job in the world. It's the hardest job in the world because you're always worried about, am I making the right decision, the right choice? Am I doing what's best for my child? And being an athlete and having to travel and be on the road and being away from them, that not only wears on you physically, but it also wears on you mentally.

Yeah. No, I agree with that 1,000%. And that's the reason I asked the question because I actually don't think it's highlighted And, and to your point, I don't think it needs to be highlighted in, hey, um, you use Skylar. Hey Skylar, how was it being a mother today and then having to come to the gym? I don't think it needs to be highlighted.

Yeah, not like that.

And, and I don't think it needs to be highlighted in that way. But, you know, when you look at the NBA, like, it has been highlighted of Steph being with Riley. You know, it has been highlighted with Al Horford having his son with him. It has been highlighted You know, with my son being on the court during pregame. And so I think they do in the NBA find different ways to highlight, you know, guys with their children, you know, and being fathers. And I think it's important because A, in the day and age of social media, sometimes being that dad takes its toll on me and I need a little bit of grace. Yeah. You know, and by the way, you talking about a mom,

Yeah.

That toll is even steeper.

Yeah.

You know, that it could take. And I may need a little bit of grace tonight from a human element. But if we never show the human side, which is that of a mother, then how do you gain the grace that you should be given as a mother, as a basketball player? But to your point, them kids, that's first. And that may tear me down today. And now I gotta show up at this arena.

Yes. Yes.

You know?

Dray, listen. So Roku just came out with this documentary, and it's called Game Changers: Mother Athlete. So myself, Skylar Diggins, Natalia Chanwa, Allyson Feaster, there's several of us in the documentary. just us talking about exactly that, what it means to be a mom and being an athlete and just all the different challenges that we faced and things that came along with it. And, you know, not to get too deep into it, but, but I can remember when I found out I was pregnant when the WNBA started in '97, and I had no idea what— how the league was going to react. I didn't know, you know, my sponsors at the time. I didn't know how they were going to react. So I didn't tell anybody until my third trimester, when at this point, I'm showing. Everybody knows anyway. So I just— I was like, I can't, for fear of— and I'm saying this as Sheryl Swoopes, right? Exactly. So I can only imagine how some of the other women who may not have a name like mine, how they were feeling about it. But I didn't tell them for fear of, like, losing my job. So it was like, listen, I just— I can't tell anybody. I just got to do it. And so fast forward, I'll say the WNBA was supportive. Nike was supportive. All of my sponsors were. But it had never been done before. So the things that we need as a mom, like in the arena, in the locker rooms, it didn't exist. Yes.

Wow.

So I found myself at times, you know, I'm coming out of the game early so I can go in at halftime so I can go breastfeed my child. And then I go back out and I play. Wow. But, you know, I just did it. And so when I fast forward to where we are now through the new CBA, there's so many things that these women now have in the new Right. Like, they have to cover for your spouse, your partner, or nanny. They have to cover for them to travel with you. You get your own room versus when we played, we didn't have our own room. So, you know, there's just so much stuff that I think about when you ask that question. And I'm like, wow, even without having things, I did that. You know what I mean? Like, I did that. And I'm glad that I went through it. So now the ladies today and the ones who'll come after them, they'll have it way better than I did. And, and to me, that's what it's all about.

You were breastfeeding during the game?

Halftime.

I watched my wife breastfeed. Um, it's exhausting.

You think? And it hurts, shit.

You, you're going through that pain, losing that energy out of your body.

I'm laughing, but it's real. Yeah, it's real.

And then going to play, that's— that's nuts. Wow, that's incredible.

And then even times when I would have to— I'm not trying to like— to me it's not gross, it's being a mom. There were times where I would have to pump because I couldn't breastfeed, and then Like, I'm putting milk bottles in just a regular fridge where we have Gatorade and water. I'm like, y'all, don't touch the milk. That ain't for you. You know what I mean? But shit, we— I did it. I was just like, it is what it is. This is— it's what I got to do. So yes, I think it is important that we highlight just how special these women are.

1,000%. I agree. I think— one last question on this topic. In having a child and then returning to basketball, did you ever fully feel like yourself again? Or do you feel like once you had Jordan that your body never returned back to peak of where it was before?

So the first year after So I had him, and then that year afterwards, not at all. I was just like, oh my gosh. And I question it. Like, I question, will I ever get back to where I was before I had him? So it really took me about 2 years to finally get back to my playing weight, to where mentally I was like, all right, I'm good. Yeah. Like, go, go, go do what you do. Um, but then also hearing people say to me, there's no way you're going to come back. Reading, you know, we had newspapers back then, Dre. Y'all don't have newspapers today. But reading, reading stuff in the newspaper where people are talking about, you know, Sheryl Swoopes should just go be a mom and forget about hooping. I was like, oh yeah, that I'm not going to do. So I've always been like, doubt me, count me out if you want to, but I'll show you, right? My mom used to say, I can show you better than I can tell you. So yeah, it did. It took me— you got to think about, you have a whole human being inside of you.

Absolutely.

So your body is going through changes, like, just I told somebody when I first came back to play, I was like, I felt shit moving that I didn't even know existed in my body. You know what I mean? So it took me 2 years to, to finally get back to where I was like, all right, yeah, I'm, I'm good.

I feel like that. That's, that's— listen, I hope I didn't ask too much, uh, but that is—

I'm glad you asked.

Wow.

Because I think it's, I think it's worth the conversation. And I also I just think it's, you know, when we say more than an athlete, and that applies to male and female, it's true.

Yes, ma'am.

Because we are more than athletes. There's so much more to who we are as a person.

That's a fact. That's a fact. And then speaking of your playing career, you're a 4-time WNBA champion, 3-time MVP. When you look back at your career, and there's obviously been this conversation of MVPs versus championships, when you look back at your career, what accomplishment would you say you're most proud of? Is it the championships? Is it the MVPs? What hits harder for you?

Having my son.

I love that.

And here's why I say that. Like, yeah, the championships, of course. Yeah, because not many people can say we won one, let alone win 4 in a row. The MVPs, the MVPs— I did say that.

The

MVPs are special. But back to what we were just talking about, there's something so special about giving birth to a child. And then being able to come back and play and have my son be around all of these amazing women, um, to be able to see how, how graceful we are, how strong we are, how incredible we are, how talented we are. And I think because of that, my, my son just has a completely different respect Respect for who women are and what we're capable of doing. Because there's no trophy, there's no championship, there's no banner that could ever replace the feeling of being a mom.

Yeah.

That's some tough shit. It is. But don't take my championships and rings and all. Don't take it away now.

Okay. Okay. No, I respect it. I mean, I have the utmost respect for women, for mothers. I always like to say my mom was the greatest in the world. I think we all feel like that about our moms.

Of

course. You know, but even in watching my wife, you know, as I go out on the road and, go do this thing and sit here and do this podcast while there's 2 kids in there, you know, and do all of these things. And I watch her juggle the discipline with the compassion with, you know, this kid is just being a complete just headache today. Like, and it's just nothing else. A terror,

a headache, all the things, because kids can be that. Absolutely.

And like, there's really nothing you can do.

No. And let me add one more thing to it, because— so my son's 29 now. Um, he has a son, he's a year old, so I'm a grandma. I'm a wife.

Congratulations.

Thank you. Um, I say that because you're talking about your wife taking care of the kids, but you know, I'll say for myself, it's the kids, it's now the grandson, it's It's the cooking, because I cook. It's cleaning. And you know what? I'm a wife, so I also take care of my husband. Absolutely. And those are— but those are things that, as an athlete, when we're playing and we're competing and all that, people look at us and they're like, well, all she does is play basketball. Excuse me. No, no, no, no, no. Did you just hear all the things that I tell you I do? And I don't take any of it for granted. But I also— I give my all to everything, right? I'm giving it all to my son, to my grandson, to my husband, to my cooking, to my cleaning, to my craft. So at, you know, 10 o'clock at night, I'm like, OK, now it's some me time.

Yes.

Right?

Everybody's gone to sleep.

Yeah.

Finally.

It's a lot.

Absolutely.

But that's why God made us who we are, because he knows that we can handle it.

As strong, for sure, as y'all are. I, you know, I have 5 children. I've— I was fortunate enough—

Dre, you have 5 kids?

Yeah, I have 5.

How old are they?

I have a 12-year-old. Well, she'll— Let's see, she'll be 12 in a week and a half. Then I have a 9-year-old who will turn 10 in December. A 6-year-old. I have a soon-to-be 3-year-old. And I have a soon-to-be 1-year-old. Wow. Yeah, so it's—

How many boys? How many girls?

3 girls and 2 boys. So it goes girl, boy, girl, girl, boy.

Wow.

So yeah, so it's, you know, it, it gets intense in this household. So when you speak of 10 o'clock at night and, and, and now you can sit back and go, oh, like every night bedtime feels like such an accomplishment. Like once they're all actually in bed, you're like, wow. But right before bedtime, it's funny, I was on Threads a couple weeks ago, like, man, right before bedtime, it's like the house gets as rowdy as it can get. Right before bedtime. And it's just like this overload of energy. And then it's finally like, all right, here goes the sun.

You got to let him get it all out. Let him get it all out. I always wanted to because I just never wanted my son to be an only child. But God had other plans. But I just— as hard as it is, right? Because that's a tough job. As crazy and mean and rude and every other word you can think of that your kids can be, I wouldn't trade it for the world.

No, it's the

best. Being a mom made me the, the person and the woman that I am.

Mm-hmm. It changes you.

It does.

It changes you for sure.

Oh my God.

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So yes, I'm a huge Rekia Jackson fan.

Ah.

Rekia reminds me so much of myself when I played. And unfortunately, she got hurt this season, so she didn't get to play a lot. I think she I mean, she played a few games, but the reason why I say that is one, Rekia plays both ends of the floor, right? She's going to get out in passing lanes. She defends. She's long. She's athletic. I think she's a 3-level scorer. She can get to the hole. She has a nice pull-up. She can shoot the 3-ball. She defends. The only difference is I think Rekia talks a lot more shit than I did when I played. I

ain't do

a lot of talking. Like, if you came at me, then I'm like, okay, I ain't no punk either, so I'm gonna come back at you. But yeah, Rekia, I think, does a little more trash talking than me.

I like that.

So she reminds me of my, my younger self for sure.

So you, so you think we should— everybody should be expecting, and coming back from the injury obviously, but everybody should be really expecting big, big things from her?

Oh my gosh, yes. And I'll go out on a limb and say Had Rekia not gotten hurt this season, I think Chicago's in the playoffs. I think she may— I think she made that big of a difference.

Wow.

100%.

Even in being arguably one of the worst organizations in the W?

That— you don't even have to put arguably on that.

I was trying to be politically correct.

But yes, yes, I do. I mean, within— when you look at all the rest of the talent that they have on that squad, I think if Rekia doesn't get hurt, um, I think they're in the playoffs. And then when you go with, with mentality, I absolutely have to go with the 5-time MVP, A'ja Wilson. Got a partner. A'ja's a— A'ja's a dog. A'ja always wants to win. She wants to be great. She's never satisfied with Just having one championship or having 4 MVPs, so you got to go get 5. Like, A'ja's mentality reminds me so much of— and not just myself. She reminds me of, like, me and Coop and Tina because our mindset every year was individually, I have to get better so that the team will be better. And if you watch A'ja in her offseason and the work she puts in, she's not playing an unrivaled. She's not going overseas. I know she's taking some time with her boo, and she should, but, you know, but she's working on her game. And every year when she comes back, you can see the work that she's put in. And, and that's what we did every single, every single offseason.

So a question, and speaking of that, do you think there's more of a benefit of her doing it that way and not planning the other things? And all of these other women are getting the game time, right? They're getting them game reps. But you're kind of in the— you kind of get in the wheel because then you go straight from that to the W. So when do you actually get time to perfect, you know, something else that you want to work on? Like, how, how do you think those 2 theories, if you will, stack up?

So I think it's different for everybody. You know, I think some people, in order to, to get better and, and work on their craft and work on their game, I think they have to be playing like some 3-on-3 or 5-on-5. My thing is, as you're getting older, your body needs rest. So I think what A'ja's doing— and obviously, shit, she's a 5-time MVP, so it's working for her.

Something's working.

You know what I mean? And I know her and Bam, they do a lot of working out together, so that helps her work on her game. But I think for A'ja, it's more about I need to mentally get a break, some rest, and physically my body needs to rest.

Yes.

And so if what she's doing is working, who am I to be like, she probably should do something a little different? Because it's working. But I do know there are some players though, Dre, who are like, nah, I got to be playing. And I think when you're younger, shit, you can do that. You can play year-round if you want to. But as you get older and your body starts talking to you, you got to listen to your body. And whatever it is, A'ja's regimen and her training, and it's working.

Yeah, it's definitely working.

It's

definitely working.

My boy, Draymond, 5-time MVP. 5. And you know what's scary? One, she probably should have 6. You can argue with that. Because a lot of people said in the year, I think, that Stewie won, they were like, yeah, A'ja should have won that one too. Not taking anything away from Stewie because Stewie is a hell of a player herself. But you know what the crazy thing is? A'ja is still in her prime. She could very easily win another 2, maybe 3 MVPs.

Yeah, she could because she's going to get the numbers.

Maybe 4. I'm like, maybe 4. She could end up with 10, maybe.

No, no, that's crazy.

No, that's crazy though. 5 is crazy to me when I think so.

If she so is she already undoubtedly the goat?

Um, you know my my thing with that conversation when people are like oh you're the goat she's the goat he's the goat they're the goat who's the goat? I don't, I don't know if it's fair to, to compare different, like, generations.

Yeah, the eras are— eras is always a problem in the GOAT conversation. I agree.

No, I, I think so. I can say, is she one of the GOATs? Absolutely. Because I, I think there have been examples. Cheryl Miller didn't get to play in the WNBA, right? And Cheryl Miller is arguably the best or one of the best that's ever played the game. So for, you know, not to take anything away from Asia, not take anything away from Cheryl, like,

I

don't know. Yeah, but I can agree with that. Respect to all of them. People ask me the same thing on the NBA side.

Yeah.

Listen, Michael Jordan is my GOAT because I watched him play. Like, that was during my time. Do you know what I mean? I didn't really get to watch Dr. J and all the greats.

Wilt Chamberlain score 100 points with a video we ain't never seen a video from. One bucket.

It's

crazy.

So you know what I mean? I'm like, I just personally, I hate that conversation. I just, I just do, because I feel like you're never gonna get it right. But my thing is, if you're asking me for mine, it's mine, so it can't be wrong because it's mine. There are several players that I'm putting in that conversation. It's like the Mount Rushmore. When you say, well, who's on your Mount Rushmore? That's really hard for me to put 4 people— Mount Rushmore is 4, right? Not 5?

Yeah, it's 4. But

everybody

puts 5. Add the 5th head. Yeah, they do. They're like,

and this is my 5th.

Yeah.

Somebody's always— somebody very deserving is always going to be left off.

And, and by the way, as time goes on, that's going to get worse and worse because the talent is just going to keep—

oh my God,

coming through. It's going to keep growing, and the game will continue to grow. Uh, games will— styles of play will continue to change. Like, that's just the nature of what we do. It's going to continue to happen. So I definitely agree with that. I definitely agree with that. Couple questions and we're outta here, switching to the NBA. Do you have a Finals prediction, a Finals matchup prediction? And do you have an MVP prediction?

Oh gosh. Okay, let me say this. And I'm not just saying this 'cause it's you. I'm a huge Golden State Warriors fan.

Oh, I appreciate that.

Thank you. That was my mom squad before she passed away. It was always— she was in front of the TV yelling at you, yelling at Steph, everybody.

Draymond, stop getting texts. Stop turning the ball over.

Stop shooting. No, no, no. That was me. That was me saying, stop getting texts. That wasn't her.

God rest her soul. I appreciate your mom.

Yeah, I love my mama. Listen, you have to always go with the defending champions, right? So I can't count the Knicks out, but with all the movement this offseason, it's

a lot.

I don't, I don't, I don't know. I think San Antonio will be better.

Yes, right.

Wembanyama. Did I say that right? I struggle with his name.

Yes, Wembanyama. I think that's right.

He, um, to be so young and to be able to do the things that he can do, like, it's scary to think about how good he can eventually be. So every year he's going to get better. So you put San Antonio in there. Listen, I'm an H-Town girl. I'm gonna just tell you, I think my Rockets gonna be pretty good this year.

Well, here's something. Here's what I'll tell you with the Rockets.

Okay, tell me so I can go tell them.

And everybody tried to ignore it last year, but Fred VanVleet's back.

Yes.

And, and, you know, everyone's like, oh man, that team don't work. They should, they, they should just get off of KD now and they should look to trade single now. But the team that they assembled to play together hasn't played together. And you, and, and outside of KD, Like just with him being KD.

Yeah.

You pulled a point guard out the equation who's also, by the way, the leader of that team.

Yes.

It's Fred VanVleet.

They really missed him last year.

That's brutal.

Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

That's brutal. You gonna pull the point guard off of any team in the NBA, I don't know that they're going to win, compete at a high level.

No.

You put a point guard, you put a point guard off our team, we know what happens, right? Like, but you put a point guard on— obviously, guards is a different thing. You put that guy on our team, everything crumbles. But you put a point guard off most teams.

No doubt.

It's gonna get tough.

It's gonna get tough. You take Jalen Brunson off the Knicks.

They gonna crumble like we crumbled. Maybe not as bad, but—

There's no way they win a championship, right?

No chance.

No,

no chance.

So I, I do think the Rockets will be good. Um, I have a question for you.

I would love to answer it.

How, how good will the Sixers be?

Wow. Okay, so I think, uh, obviously on paper Mm. They can be really, really, really good. Their starting 5, I think they brought in a couple key underrated acquisitions throughout the offseason that I think will help them.

Okay.

KCP on a minimum, I think is a great addition.

Yeah.

D-Wade, who, you know, now that you have LeBron, I think it's actually the perfect situation for D-Wade because they almost signed him as being their starting 2. 3, right? Like starting 3, 4, whatever.

Oh wow.

However you wanna label the positions. And now LeBron is there and D-Wade's actually able to take on the role which best suits him, which being a 7th man off the bench, you know, coming in and playing against backups, right? You're not playing against, as opposed to you opening the game against Kawhi Leonard, you're now opening the game against said 8th man on the opposing team. And so I think that better suits them. So needless to say, I think on paper it looks really good. Where I struggle is how does the pieces really fit? So for instance, Tyrese Maxey, I think, is super fast and he gets downhill as good as anyone. How many games does Joel play? Because when Joel's not out there— Yes. The paint's wide open and Tyrese Maxey can get downhill at will. You know, if Joel plays 50 games, you know, and those 50 games are play 5, miss 4, play 2, miss 1, play 1, miss 3, you know, if it's like that, then Joel is such a big piece that how do you ever gain— and not only is he a big piece, it actually changes the entire structure and the way the offense works. Yeah. How do you ultimately build that chemistry and no pun intended, that process to ultimately allow you to reach the pinnacle? And so what I'll say, my thoughts on the 76ers are, I think they'll win a bunch of regular season games because with that amount of talent, it's going to be hard for them to lose a lot of regular season games. So I think they'll win a bunch of regular season games. And I think when they get to the playoffs, I think it'll— based on the matchups that they get, they, they get the right matchups and I think they can breeze on through it. But I think they get the wrong matchup and seeding and all of that stuff comes into play on where they get matched up at. I think they could get bounced early if, you know, if they get the wrong matchup because— Wow. Their pieces aren't like, they don't, when Kevin Durant came to the Golden State Warriors, the pieces fitted like a glove. You like, their pieces don't fit like a glove.

And he was a perfect fit for y'all when he came.

Absolutely. Right. Like we didn't have to change anything.

100%.

You know, we just had somebody better in a spot, but we didn't have to change anything. I think for them, like, BJ Eschcomb has to play a different role than he's accustomed to playing. LeBron is going to have to play a different role than he's accustomed to playing. I don't think it's necessarily the role he played last year on the Lakers. I think it's a bigger role than he played on the Lakers, but he gonna have to figure it out, right? Right. And so I think they have guys on their roster that has to figure it out. Who's your number 1, Jaylen Brown or Tyrese Maxey? Which one of those guys are number 1? Because by the way,

yeah,

one of them have to be number 1.

Yeah.

And one of them have to be number 2. So you can't have 2 number 1s.

Well, you can't have a 1A and a 1B?

No, because guess— you know why you can't? In theory, we all love to say that.

Yeah.

But I disagree. At times, that guy— now you may have 2 guys who's capable of being a 1, à la Steph Curry and LeBron James. I mean, excuse me, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant. You may have got, but they're not gonna be 1 at the same time. It don't work.

Well, does it change per game? Do you know what I mean?

It can. Some games.

Yeah.

It can, but you're also talking about too, with the personalities. See, Steph personality and Kevin personality, Is Tyrese Maxey personality is a lot like that? Jaylen Brown personality is more closer to me than them. You know? And so you gotta take all of that into the equation. Now, again, like I said, from a talent standpoint, I don't think anyone wants to run up against them, but the pieces don't fit like a glove. They have to make the pieces work.

No, no, no, no.

And also, here's the thing where it differs, where when you're talking 1A and 1B too, Jaylen Brown and Tyrese Maxey play 2 completely different styles of basketball. So when you're talking about being the one and flipping back and forth, that's also going to require other guys to flip their mindset, to flip their games and what they're doing. when one is being the one and when the other's being the one.

Yeah.

When Kevin's being the one or Steph's being the one, it didn't require us to flip much because in what they're doing and how they're getting to their stuff, it's a lot. It doesn't require a complete change of the offense. So I think they could be really good. They could win it. I think, you know, but I think it's a range. Like they could be really good and win it. They could lose in the first round.

Depending on how it all comes together. I agree.

Absolutely. Like,

and

by the way, I don't, I don't say that to be non-committal as far as like, oh man, give you this wide range. I'm just saying pieces come together and—

Yeah, no doubt. But I mean, that's anything. That's anything.

You know, but this team though, and how the pieces don't fit and how they gotta make it fit, like you have to make it fit.

Yeah.

It could go wrong.

Yeah, it could go very wrong.

And so that's just—

I said one more. This is my last team because I'm really curious about this

one. Of course.

Do we like Klay Thompson and Giannis with the Heat?

If, if Giannis is going to be the willing passer that he was earlier in his career, yes, because Klay The way he shoots the basketball, I don't think, outside of Dame, Giannis has never played with a shooter like that. And even with Dame, the way Dame shoot is different than Klay, right? Like, Klay is more catch and fire.

Klay can shoot that thing.

Absolutely. Whereas Dame is like, I can create these shots and shoot it like this, you know?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure.

I don't think Giannis is accustomed to having a sniper like that. And I think if he's approaching this with the mindset of being the willing passer that he's capable of being, he's a great passer and he's capable of doing that, then I like it a lot.

You like him alongside Bam?

I do, because both of them are versatile, right? Like you can mix and match. Like you can, they don't, they can do some of the same thing, but they're 2 totally separate players. And I think from a matchup standpoint, it's a matchup nightmare for just about every team who's gonna have a matchup with them. Like, who are you putting, Let's look at our team. Who you putting me on? You putting me on Giannis or you putting me on Bam?

Yeah.

You know, it's like, so it becomes a matchup problem for both teams. So I think they can be really good. Obviously the worry is shooting. You know, Klay obviously can address some of that, but I had said on a podcast a couple months ago, like, but I also don't want everybody trying to, You know, my love for Klay is through the

roof.

Yeah. I don't want everybody trying to say, yo, look, Klay showed up there and trying to treat my man like he's 31-year-old Klay. You know what I'm saying? And then 3 months from now, you know, everybody's crushing him and talking about how he should be coming off the bench and retire if he don't play as well as everybody's trying to You know, I set him up to. And so still can shoot the ball lights out with the best of them. But at the same time, you know, 2 major injuries, about to be 37 years old, that body don't feel the same every night.

No, no.

You know, you're gonna have your nights where he's gonna feel great.

And then coming back from injury, that's hard.

Absolutely.

It takes a lot out of you. It

does. So you're gonna have your nights where he's feeling great. You know, he'd run off 7 of them. But it's gonna be some nights where the body just don't wanna get going, you know? And so, you know, I like it because anytime you put that type of shooting next to someone who can get downhill like that, it's good. But he's gonna be— thing with Klay is he's gonna have to be a willing passer because if not, Klay will find his own shots.

I've seen him do that.

Good, bad, or indifferent, he gonna find them shots.

I've seen him do that a few times.

You might as well get him the good ones because if you don't, he gonna find the shots.

Facts. No, that's facts.

He ain't never seen one he don't like.

That's facts. That's facts. You don't get off that easy though. Do the Warriors make the playoffs this year?

I think we can definitely make the playoffs. Obviously, health is a big thing with Jimmy already out and Moses already out. how healthy we can stay until getting those guys back is going to be important. You know, like we can't— Porzingis is out, right? Like we, you know, it's like—

Oh my gosh.

You got 3 of your projected, like of your projected top 5. You know, like, you know, obviously you got BP, Yaxel, but who, All things considered, who you would look at as starting 5, especially from contract structure,

Mm-hmm.

3 of those 5 are out. And so can we keep it afloat as we start getting those guys back? I think it's gonna be extremely important. Now, I think we can make the playoffs. I think we should make the playoffs, and I think we will. make the playoffs, but I'm not going to sit here and act like the health— like,

oh, it matters.

Yeah, health, health is important to every team.

It matters

for sure. But when you're already kind of decimated, it's probably a little more important for us.

Well, I mean, playoffs don't seem right without the Warriors in the playoffs, you know. I mean, we got so used to seeing the Warriors in the playoffs. So, and I already told you I'm a Warriors fan, so I need, I need that.

I appreciate it. Listen, I, I need it too. I got a couple playoff stats that I'm creeping up on that I— no, I'm just playing. But honestly though, like, I love basketball and I play my best basketball during the playoffs. Like, I always have. So

yeah,

go, go, being at home, uh, second week in April, And watching playoffs games for 2 months. It's fun when I can sit in Cabo with a margarita, but it's not enjoyable.

That's not where you really wanna be. You can go to Cabo after you win a championship.

And have as many margaritas as I want, but I wanna play in the playoffs. Like, that's what you— that's what you're preparing for. So I think ultimately we do end up there, but I'm not gonna sit and lie and act like we— we need a lot of things to go right.

Yeah, no doubt.

You know, like, that's just the reality. We're decimated with injury already, and so we need the rest of everything to go right.

So I'm not giving you an MVP prediction 'cause I don't know. I don't, I don't know. You gotta, you gotta let me watch some games first, and then we can come back and I'll give it to you.

I love it. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say it's, uh, it's Wemby.

Oh, that is a good one though.

I mean, With his impact defensively and his impact offensively, I don't— I, I, I'm— the only thing that can stop him from MVP this year, I think, is injury. Other than that, I think he wins MVP.

Does he win Defensive Player of the Year too?

1,000%.

Dang. Okay, that is a good one. I ain't mad.

Absolutely. I think he takes home both of them this year. 'Cause there was something brewing towards the end of last year where it was like, he climbed fast.

Yeah, I remember that. I do remember that.

People won't forget that.

Damn, yeah, that's a good one. I'll take one pick. I ain't mad at that.

Wow. Mrs. Sheryl Swoopes, what an honor this has been. I can't thank you enough for being so gracious with your time, for the answers that you shared, and for completely making the day of that 10-year-old kid sitting in Saginaw, Michigan. I just can't thank you enough. This is like, I've had, like, I'm getting chills on my arms. It's all right. 'Cause it's one of them pinch yourself moments for me. Like, am I really sitting here talking to Sheryl Swoopes? Like, this is just normal? So I really appreciate you doing it.

Dre, you know I got mad love for you. I do. I appreciate you. And anytime. We got to do it again. Thank you, my man.

No doubt. I would love to. Absolutely.

Stay healthy this season.

Thank you. That is the goal. If you're rocking with The Draymond Green Show, be sure to click follow on your favorite 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 Friesinger, and Greg Holtzman. Video production and creative design by Kurt Courtney, Tim Meechel, Lauren Vieira and Evan O'Brien. Special thanks to the team at The New Media and the team at Audacy. Maura Curran, Josephina Francis, Hillary Shuff, Eric Donnelly, Kate Rose, Colin Gaynor, and Jake Galli.