In this inaugural episode of the Draymond Green Show, Draymond Green and guest Speaker B engage in a candid, conversational podcast about NBA locker‑room culture, player psychology, and on‑court dynamics. Green emphasizes personal accountability, stating he never blames others for bad performances and will even take the blame when things go well. The duo then dissect the concept of "front runners," recalling how the Warriors once labeled the Clippers, Rockets, and other teams as dominant but saw those teams falter under pressure. They discuss the league’s flopping era, noting that even star players like Steph Curry were urged to flop, while others used it strategically. A substantial portion of the conversation centers on contract‑year incentives, highlighted by a detailed anecdote about Mo Harkless’s million‑dollar three‑point bonus that allegedly caused him to avoid shooting in crucial playoff games. Green describes how he leveraged that knowledge as a mind‑game tactic. The talk also touches on the broader impact of contract‑year mindsets on team chemistry, with references to players such as Jamal Crawford, Marvin Williams, and the influence of veteran voices like Shawn Livingston and Andre Iguodala. Finally, Green reflects on his own shooting slump, attributing it to lost confidence and questioning how mental factors affect decision‑making on the court. Throughout, the tone remains informal, reflective, and occasionally critical, offering insider perspectives on the intersection of performance, psychology, and business in the NBA.
Chapters
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Man, you actually pod after games and you give real intel on the game. And it's amazing to see you do that. Like I wouldn't have the confidence to do that, but you know who you are as a player and as a person. I could never do that. 'Cause I know I'm gonna have a bad night. You live with your bad nights, you live with your good nights and you like, you go forward with it. If I have a bad night, bro, I'm not saying a word. It's over. Like I'm going home. I'm not talking to nobody. I'm not doing none of that. And you get on the pod You own up to if you had a bad night. It's dope, dope to see.
Nah, I appreciate it, bro. But you know, a part of that for me is, and where it differs from you, I talk a lot. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know what I'm saying? So I let you know when it's going good for me. I hate nothing more than the guy that lets you know when it's going good, but when it's going bad, it ain't his fault. You know what I'm saying? When it's going, I'd much rather, and how I approach things is, I'd rather throw myself even under the bus, even if it went good.
Mm-hmm. I've seen you do that plenty of times.
You know what I'm saying? As opposed to like, man, it's going bad, that ain't on me. Like, nah, that's when I wanna take that. But that's different for you though, because you're also not throwing it in nobody face when it's going good.
Yeah.
You know what I'm saying? So that's a totally different thing, but— You know, like I always say to people, I've been able to win championships off of identifying front runners. You know what I'm saying? Like you go up against certain teams.
Who? Name 'em.
When we was playing the Clippers back in the day.
Oh shit, yeah.
We thought they was front runners. Now I've gotten really close with CP. So I take that with a grain of salt. Although I'd never thought CP was a front runner. 'Cause he was all, he played the same way all the time. Tough, physical as hell, smart, fast. If you talk, he getting into it with you.
I'm glad you said that. 'Cause people get mad at me when I tell the story about CP talking shit to me. Tell them that he talk shit, please.
Absolutely.
Thank you, C.
1000%.
I still love you, bro. It was just, you talk shit that day. It's all good, bro.
1000% talk.
Yeah, for sure.
But a lot of guys on that team, we would walk into our locker room and say like, yo, those guys are front runners. Like, it's going good for them, it's great.
Yeah, yeah.
Once it start going wrong, everybody crumble.
Yeah.
You know what I'm saying? We thought that about quite a few teams we would run up against. Like, you just knew Houston, we thought Houston was really good. They challenged us. But we thought they was front runners. And every time you get down to it and it show itself in the most inopportune time. And so that's why, like, even through our runs, you see guys like flopping. Like Steph wouldn't flop. I remember at one point the flopping was so bad in the NBA. We'd be like, yo, Steph, you gotta flop, man. Clay, you gotta flop.
I got paid off flopping. I can't even say nothing, bro. I was stopping on the screen, shooting, doing all that stuff. That was me. I said, I got at least 6 points a game. I know it. I remember one time, it's funny. I did it to Steph and then he got pissed. He was like, that shit. Well, he came down the next play and did it. Was like, you doing all this stuff to the crowd, was crying laughing. I was like, I don't care, bro. Shit, I'm just trying to get these, I need 8 points, bro.
Did you, in going through contract situations, I always hear, you know, Shawn Livingston and Andre Iguodala, David West. They would always say to us, yo, y'all don't know the real NBA. Y'all been here with the Warriors. They come in, obviously once they get, you see it, they see how the organization. And they would always tell me, Steph and Klay, like, yo, y'all don't know the NBA. Like y'all ain't never played in the real NBA.
Nah, y'all didn't, man. Y'all had it good. I played in the real NBA where people, like, I think it was one time you said something to Mo Harkless, why he wasn't shooting threes.
Facts.
Yeah. I've been on those teams. Like when I came into the league, I love Jamal Crawford, He was in a contract year. I think Marvin Williams just got paid. It was a couple guys was trying to get money. And that's the first time I heard about like stats and stuff. Like, 'cause when I played in college, you just tried to win.
Absolutely.
Like I'm doing whatever I can do to win. But I heard him say, "Man, Ginobili averaged 14 points. He got $12 million. I'm averaging 18." I'm like, "You playing good for us though, bro." Like, "Man, fuck that. I need the money." I'm like, "Oh, okay. That's how that work." And then ever since then, I was on teams where it was always somebody Contract year, contract year. And it made our team weird. And the only year we didn't have a contract problem was the year we won all them games.
Wow.
Everybody had got paid and that's the year we were good.
And y'all had 4 All-Stars that year.
Yep, that's the year we were good.
That's crazy, man. I always, to your point, the Mo Harkless story. So we're playing, we're playing, it's the end of the season and Mo Harkless had a bonus in his contract. That if he shot a certain 3-point percentage and played a certain amount of games, which he had already played the amount of games and a 3-point percentage, that he would get like a million-dollar bonus. And so he was, I think it may have been like 35%. Take it with a grain of salt. I don't know the exact number, but call it 35%. And if he had to shoot 35%, he was at like 35.3. And for the last 4 or 5 games of the year, He didn't attempt the 3.
I wouldn't have either.
And so, however, which I get it.
Yeah. You hurting your team, but like—
You killing them, by the way. I get it. I don't get it. I understand.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So I understand. However, for me to know that you're doing that, I gotta now use that to my advantage. So we meet up with them in the playoffs. Right after he's doing that. And I say to him right away, "You gonna shoot tonight? 'Cause you got your bonus now. Are you still scared to shoot?" "Hey, he's scared to shoot, fellas. He don't wanna shoot tonight. He's still worried about his bonus." That's a fact.
It play a role.
He tanked the rest of the series.
He tanked. Oh man. Oh, you can't do that. Like you got the money there, you gotta hoop.
He tanked. And by the way, I love Mo Harkless. We came in the same draft, man. Like, love what he was able to do in his career. But it was situations like that, that for me, as someone who like to play mind games and like gotta try to get under somebody's skin.
Yeah, he gave him a layup.
I'm like, yo, you don't wanna shoot? It's crazy.
But you gotta understand though, like, that's why David West and them said y'all ain't been on the real NBA. Y'all always been in situations where like, I'm gonna get that. Like not you, 'cause you came in as a second round pick, but when you got there and you solidified yourself, you basically been almost a max player every time. So guys like me or guys who, you know, had to kind of like get their contract and they need those bonuses. I understand where they coming from, but as a player hooping, I couldn't have done that.
Like I gotta hoop.
Yeah, I'm just gonna hoop. But in the back of my mind, if I would've went 34, I would've been pissed.
I missed that million.
And we was sad. Oh man, it hurt. It hurt.
Here's the thing though. I struggled with shooting for a couple years, 2, 3 year span of my career because I lost confidence in it. I got totally lost confidence in my shot. And so I struggled with it a bit. I still don't know if my mind would process like, yo, you can't shoot because your percentage about to drop.
That's crazy. Nah, you a hooper though. And you like to win, but you come from a winning, y'all, Michigan State, you a winner. You've been in winning environments. Like you ain't never really been around losing. Like we, I've been around some losing before. And you start looking at stuff a little different. Like, ah, we about to win 20 games this year. I need my bonus. So I get where Mo at with it. But as a hooper, you can't do that. Especially if you was a playoff team.
No, that's a fact. That's a fact.
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