In the inaugural episode of the Draymond Green Show, Draymond Green provides a conversational analysis of the Olympic men’s basketball tournament. He opens by noting the surprising removal of Joel Embiid from Team USA’s roster, acknowledging the difficulty of benching NBA talent in the Olympics. The discussion then shifts to France’s unexpected decision to bench center Rudy Gobert. Green outlines the two competing explanations: Gobert’s claim of a finger injury requiring surgery versus the French coach’s assertion that the move was driven by matchup considerations. He questions the credibility of both narratives, noting the lack of concrete evidence. Green highlights France’s other big men—Abdel‑Fattah Yabusele (a former Boston Celtics draft pick) and Nicolas Lesort—arguing that their physical style may have influenced the coach’s decision. He critiques Canada’s lack of comparable bigs and references his own experience with Bam Adebayo in 2020. The conversation moves to the upcoming France‑Germany matchup, where Green praises Germany’s guard Dennis Schröder, wing Franz Wagner, and bench contributor Mo Wagner, while suggesting that France’s bigs may be insufficient to overcome Germany’s depth. He also comments on Victor Wembanyama’s adjustment to FIBA’s physical play. Green concludes with bold predictions: USA to defeat Serbia by 22 points, Germany to beat France by 6‑7 points, and the United States to capture its fifth consecutive Olympic gold. The segment ends with a brief sponsorship plug for DraftKings’ Best Ball Millionaire Contest.
Chapters
Welcome to the brand new Draymond Green Show YouTube channel. Hit subscribe so you don't miss out on any of our content. So in moving to the other side of the bracket, obviously we hit on Germany a little bit, but France, very interesting France, game for France. Joel Embiid coming out of the lineup on Team USA, I like, it's crazy, right? Like, but I get it. Anybody coming outta the lineup on Team USA is actually crazy. But I do understand like everybody can't play, so I get it. But like to be taken outta the lineup on any other team in the Olympics as an NBA player, not named Team USA is kind of crazy. And—
Yeah.
France had a very interesting plot twist going on. Big Rudy Gobert said he had surgery on his finger or something. Like, it ain't going well or something. Surgery on his finger. France's coach said he thought the matchups was an issue. And so Rudy didn't start because of the matchups. According to Rudy, it's because of his finger. We don't know what's true. I don't think we have any reason to believe Rudy's lying, except for the coach saying that it was for matchups. And in turn, the coach saying it was for matchups, Yabusele, who was drafted by the Boston Celtics. Um. Who also gave us in game 1 when we played them the first time in 2021 in Tokyo, he got off a little bit. When we played them in the gold medal game, we shut that water off, but he can play and he physical, heavy. And he, and I told y'all, Canada ain't have no bigs.
Yeah.
And FIBA, you need some bigs. And by the way, they don't have to be these big clunky bigs that everybody be having. Because in 2020, me and Bam held it down. But you need bigs that know how to play the position, that know how to protect the rim, that know how to hold it down, that know how to box out. JaVale also played a role. Canada don't have that. And in turn, Yabusele gave them problems because the matchup was better. I mean, French, at least France coach says the matchup is better. So Yabusele got off and quite frankly, their coach said the matchups was better. The proof's in the pudding. But we don't know who's lying. But the proof's in the pudding. I'm gonna mess this name up, but Lesort, he also played well. Matchup was probably a little bit better. And in the 3 minutes that Rudy checked in, Shea started getting off. Like that's when it started to turn the corner for Shea. And then he came back out and I think, His finger was messed up. Um, so we don't know quite, uh, what's coming out of the French national team side. Uh, seems like a little bit of a misunderstanding. Nonetheless, the guys that were supposedly better as far as a matchup, they got off and France is moving on. And now they're moving on to play Germany and Wemby had a rough night. But because Coach knew that the bruisers would get off and the matchups were a little bit better for them, Wimby's bad night didn't matter. Coach actually probably didn't expect Wimby to have a great night because he knew like Dwight Powell is a little strong and he a little physical. Wimby still figuring out the FIBA play too because it's more physical. So he's figuring that out. So Coach probably didn't expect Wemby to play great, but Coach said, "I can't have both of my bigs not playing great." And, "Well, you decide who gotta go. I know who I'd pick, but you, I'll leave it to you to pick who gots to come out." And the adjustments work. And now they're to face Germany, in which Germany has the better wings. Germany has the better guard and more experience. Like Dennis Schroder, if y'all have not watched Dennis Schroder in Olympics and FIBA play, Dennis Schroder gets whatever he wants. He's in total control of the game. And now Franz Wagner is playing at a totally different level. And by the way, if you never seen Dennis Schroder, Dennis Schroder is one of those guys that give guys confidence. So Fran even turn it up more. Mo Wagner plays a huge role off the bench. French. I just don't think France have enough to beat Germany, and Germany is the second best team in the Olympics, in my opinion. And so that's what I got happening. I got USA will beat Serbia by 22 points, and Germany— 26. Will beat France by 6 or 7 points. And then it's time for the gold medal game. And Team USA will walk victorious with another gold medal, our 5th gold medal in a row. And everything's happening in the world the way we thought it would. The way we thought it should, and we're moving on.
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