In this debut episode of the Draymond Green Show, Draymond Green and former NBA guard Baron Davis discuss the recent controversy surrounding American sprinter Noah Lyles. They recap Lyles' recent performances – a gold medal in the 100 m and a bronze in the 200 m – and note his earlier, provocative comment that NBA champions are not "world champions." The hosts praise Lyles for speaking about his dyslexia and overcoming adversity, but they turn critical when Lyles appeared in a wheelchair after the 200 m bronze and claimed he had been battling COVID for the two days prior. Green and Davis speculate on whether the wheelchair was a genuine medical need or a post‑race excuse, questioning why the illness wasn’t disclosed before the race. Their conversation expands to broader themes: the pressure athletes face from social media, the temptation to use health issues as excuses, and the importance of owning one’s narrative. They draw parallels to basketball incidents (e.g., Paul Pierce’s return) and reflect on personal attitudes toward winning, losing, and staying accountable. The episode ends with a light‑hearted banter about resilience and a call for athletes to “stand on what they stand on” rather than “roll away” in a wheelchair.
Chapters
Welcome to the brand new Draymond Green Show YouTube channel. Hit subscribe so you don't miss out on any of our content. I watch all, I love track and field. I love swimming. I love, I don't really watch that. Women's basketball, obviously soccer, football in other countries. I love that. Beach volleyball is be turnt. Love beach volleyball.
We lost though.
Yeah, we did. It was unfortunate.
That was tough.
But, and I follow all these sports. I sit here, I watch it all day. There was this controversy stirred up last year by Noah Lyles, who grabbed the title of the fastest man in the world, by the way. So congratulations to him.
Yeah, by like a nose.
Yeah, came back too. However, and then the 200, he, Which is his event. Like the 100 actually not his, 200 is where he came in bronze.
Congratulations.
Which I think winning a medal, I think is incredible. But he made a statement last year that had the basketball community in uproar when he said, "They ain't world champions. They, they, what, something, they NBA champions." Draymond Green. Champions in the United States. They ain't world champions.
Is that how all that started?
That's how it all started.
Come on, homie.
I mean, it was one of those statements where it was like, it made you cringe to hear him say that because like, what are you talking about, bro? Like, this the best league in the world. And like, we do the Olympic thing.
He's tired.
Like, what you talking about? However, and to his credit, it made him more popular than he would've ever been in his life. And it made everybody watch races that he was in. Made a lot of people root against him. Yeah. And after he won the 100, he spoke about having dyslexia and like all these different things, which shout out to him, man. I think it's dope to overcome that. But a lot of people, I saw people making an uproar. I've talked to people who was like, why he ain't say these things before the race? And then after the 200, After the 200 that he lost, he came in bronze. He announced that he's had COVID for the last 2 days. But COVID, when it wanna go, wanna go. And he left out of a wheelchair. Why you flex so much, Russ? I just wanna know. Hey, bro.
Flex?
No, but why you do it? No, I think it's dope, bro. Why you do it like that, bro? That man got a gold medal, a silver medal, and a bronze medal. I think that's incredible. I also, but I had these thoughts also, like for us personally.
I know, you are hilarious.
No, I just.
The wheelchair part was.
No, I mean he left out the wheelchair and then announced that he had COVID for the last 2 days after he came in bronze. And it's like.
Why was he in a wheelchair?
I mean, I don't know. Well, honestly.
And I'm not laughing at, Nobody, like, why did he get? Was he in a wheelchair 'cause he was in COVID?
Or he was, I don't know. I haven't seen an interview.
Man, you know, we living in a crazy time, bro. You know what I mean? We living in a crazy time where it's like, people, and not, I'm not, I'm just generalizing. Like people are confused and people are coached. You know what I mean? And like, it seemed like everybody waiting on they moment to like do some shit, to say some shit. And they want everybody in the world, you know what I mean? Even when like you looking at social media, like people be, doing the most, you know what I mean? And I think sometimes social media fuck us up, but as athletes, like, it would be hard for me to play in this era with social media just 'cause the anxiety, you know what I mean? I don't really know what to say, bro, as far as like, damn, that's tough. You know what I mean?
What's tough, the wheelchair?
Man, it's tough to like, you know, you go from, It's just like, maybe he's, you know, I'm a big person. Like the shit you be saying create the energy, you know what I mean? And so yeah, you looked at this big moment, you may have said, oh, I got all these problems still, this how I won. Then also like the problems start to like, you start getting asked about that shit. You know what I mean? Yeah. And that shit becomes annoying, you know? I don't know about the wheelchair. I like, did he?
I don't think you, you can't leave out of the way. You just ran a race, bro. You ran 2. It ain't like, by the way, y'all just finished like a 1500 or something and you was like exhausted.
A what?
You know, like a marathon. Like y'all from the tribe. Like you ran 200.
Are we, is the thought that damn, I didn't win, Oh, you know what I mean? Like I came in third, like maybe I was hurt.
I hope not because I think what he just accomplished—
Well, you have to be hurt if you're in a wheelchair. If he was—
Paul Pierce came back in the game.
He did. He did.
I don't know. I'm trying to figure the wheelchair thing out though, man. Again, I root for Americans. So I was happy to see him win the 100.
For sure.
I think to get a bronze medal was good.
But it created a tension, bro. It created a little beef. Like, oh, you think Draymond is harder than— I love all the competition and the narratives and shit, but like, you can't, I don't know, you can't do that, bro. You can't like, you gotta stand on what you stand on.
Right?
You can't just roll with it.
Wheelchair.
You can't just roll with it. You can't just roll off. You feel what I'm saying? You gotta stand on what you stand on. Right?
You lose, you come around. "You gotta run your campaign, right? You can't roll away." I do wonder what it's like though, to win a medal and then still be competing. 'Cause for us, like, you win and you done.
It's over.
So I wonder if he hit a little bit of complacency, like, "Wow, I'm the fastest man in the world." But to hit us with the COVID like, tell me you got COVID before the race, bro.
Yeah.
Don't tell me after, like, "Ah, I got COVID." Like, before the race, I got COVID, or don't run. That's always an option.
That's tricky though.
Or don't tell me at all.
I actually— I'd have definitely told everybody I had COVID just before the race and been—
[COUGHING] I'd have lined up and gave them a quick one. Y'all ready?
I'd have gave them one of them.
He done won! I don't need to know you got COVID. Just don't ever tell us. This is an excuse.
This is an excuse. It's just a bad excuse.
We proud of bro. Like, that's dope, man. You went and added to the medal count.
Yeah, no, we got you. You got yourself a best medal. That's why I say congratulations. You deserve it.
Absolutely. Just don't leave in a wheelchair again. I hate when people do stuff like that.
Nah, the wheelchair is nuts, bro.
You lose, you lose. Take it on the chin, keep it pushing.
I mean, he'll probably come out, see this and be like, "Oh no, I fucked my ankle up." You know that? Hopefully. Don't leave. I got carted off on a stretcher and I was, if they would've let me walk off that court, I would've did it. You know what I mean? Like there's no way that I'm faking.
What?
A wheelchair. Like if I needed to like get through security at the airport.
You ain't come back in the game. You came back in the game after you got carted off?
Hell no, I wish I could. But they had popped my knee. Like I would've walked off if they would've, you know, like—
They wouldn't let you.
I wasn't begging for no, I wasn't begging for that shit. I was thinking like, all right, let me, pick me up. They came with the cart. I was like, no, no, don't put me on that. Hey bro, you cannot, you know, a wheelchair. He shouldn't have did that.
That's crazy. There's pictures of him, he got his joints zippered.
Come on, bro.
You can't do that.
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