In this episode of the Draymond Green Show, Draymond Green addresses LeBron James' comment on the Mind the Game podcast that the Golden State Warriors defeated the Boston Celtics in the 2022 NBA Finals because of superior basketball IQ. Draymond defines basketball IQ as the ability to process rapidly changing "pictures" on the court, anticipate plays before they fully develop, and make real‑time adjustments. He cites specific tactical examples—such as deliberately sending defenders left, spraying shooters, and altering pick‑and‑roll angles—that illustrate this high‑level processing. He also credits the Warriors' coaching staff and veteran experience (Steve Kerr, Mike Brown, etc.) for their strategic adjustments throughout the series. Draymond explores whether IQ is innate or learned, sharing personal anecdotes about his uncle teaching him defensive fundamentals in elementary school, giving him a head start over most players. He highlights a small elite group—Chris Paul, LeBron James, and especially Rajon Rondo—who can "see the pictures" before they happen, labeling Rondo as a GOAT of basketball IQ. The conversation also touches on innate gifts versus hard work, using Stephen Curry’s shooting talent as an example of a natural ability honed by effort. The episode concludes with a brief DraftKings Sportsbook promotion.
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What's up everybody? Welcome to the Draymond Green Show YouTube channel. Make sure you hit that subscribe button. Make sure you like the post that you love, but you can get everything the Draymond Green Show right on our YouTube channel. So make sure you subscribe, check that out. Thank you. In other news, LeBron James on the Mind the Game podcast with JJ Redick spoke about a plethora of different things, but one being, Lakers, excuse me, the Warriors beat the Celtics in the finals because of basketball IQ. And of course you all know this is on the rundown of things because Jackson is always gonna find a way to insert the Celtics into— That's exactly right. Anything that he can possibly do. So let's talk about the Celtics because there are weird fans like Jackson get off by listening to how they lost to us. So let's talk about this. Uh, that to a certain, um, degree is very true. Um, I think we definitely had a higher IQ at the time, but I think we also— it's more than just a higher IQ though. Like, we had a higher IQ for sure, but it's also IQ in the moment. You know, like in these situations, like you get in these, you know, people, somebody can have a high IQ and get in those moments and completely lose it. Like, because the moment gets too big. You know, we saw Jared Allen a couple, maybe that was last year. He said, "Man, those lights were brighter than we thought." I was very surprised when he came out and said that publicly. But it was as real as anybody could be. Like you get in these playoffs sometimes and This is the NBA Finals we're talking about. Sometimes those lights can get a little bit brighter than you expected. And so, and then, you know, they were much younger and, you know, had never been there. They had been to the Eastern Conference Finals, but had never been there. They were much younger. And so I think our basketball IQ was higher. I think at that time also our coaching staff's basketball IQ was higher. The adjustments that we made throughout that series, It made all the difference in the series. But again, we had been there before. Steve had been there, Mike had been there, Mike Brown, you know, they had been there. So they knew the adjustments to make like that. But I definitely think our IQ was better. Like I remember when we switched and start guarding and sending all those guys left, like that kind of came, that came from the players of like, yo, they can't go with their left hand, like go. Yeah. You know, like, let's send them left everywhere. Because as a coach, you're hesitant to do something like that as a coach because if you're on the right side of the floor and you're sending left, that means you send it left. I mean, that means you're sending it to the middle. Go watch the NBA and tell me how many times guys intentionally send a pick and roll to the middle. Your defense ain't really built for that. And so we're telling guys like, yo, we gonna send them left and like spray out. Like, don't even stay and help.
Yeah.
Just spray out to shooters so they can't hit the shooters. And like, it changed the entire series. That is an IQ thing. Uh, and so I think, um, that, that's definitely crazy. And you know, and you know, for those of you out there that don't quite understand what I mean by IQ, it's like, what, what level are you processing this game and how are you processing these pictures? You know, through— in the course of a game, like, pictures develop in every 20 seconds, every 15 seconds, a different picture is developing. How fast can you process those pictures? Take an IQ to another step. Can you process those pictures before the picture even come— become clear? That's taking IQ to another level. And by the way, there's not many guys in the NBA— and when I say many, you're talking probably I'm gonna be generous and say less than 20 that can literally see the pictures, and that's being very generous, by the way, that can see the picture before it even develops. That's a whole nother level of IQ. Chris Paul can see that. LeBron James can see that. I always go back to Rajon Rondo. I know Rondo is retired, but when it comes to basketball IQ, I've never in my life got an opportunity to talk the game of basketball with Rajon Rondo. I have the utmost respect for Rajon Rondo's basketball IQ. So anytime I mention IQ, you always hear me bring up Rajon Rondo, and I always will. Because to me, when it comes to IQ in the game of basketball, he is one of the GOATs. And I say that, and I mean it like nobody's tomorrow. Rajon Rondo is one of the GOATs when it comes to basketball IQ. So, there's not a lot of guys that see those pictures before they happen. And quite frankly, you know, there's always the discussion of is IQ, is that an innate thing? Like, is it inherited? Like, is that like, like do you, like how does that come about? I wouldn't necessarily say inherited, that's crazy. But like, is it an innate thing or is it learned? And the reality is I think it is partly learned. Mm-hmm. Like my uncle taught me the game of basketball when I was young. When all these coaches was like rolling out a basketball, telling guys go play, my uncle didn't roll out no basketball. He's like, "All right, first I'm gonna teach y'all this game." I learned help side defense when I was in the first or second grade. Most guys don't learn that till high school. Some guys don't learn that till college. Some of these guys don't learn until they get to the NBA. I learned that in first, second grade. So imagine the head start that I had with that, right? Like my uncle has always watched the games with me and like, look at this, see, you see this? My uncle still send me stuff about the game and he ain't, my uncle ain't never coached past the elementary school level. Maybe he was like an assistant coach for my aunt at the high school level where, and I don't think he went to games, he just go to practice. Like my uncle is a basketball teacher. Like savant-level teacher. And the base that he builds for a basketball player is out of this world. And so the foundation is out of this world. And so number one, when I first started playing, I was taught the game of basketball, but then I also think like there are some— Yeah. Part of it that's innate. Like, that's my gift, you know? Like, Steph Curry's gift is his shot. Like, I can go shoot the ball a million times and like get a million extra shots up. I would not be as good a shooter as Steph Curry. It just won't happen. Like, Steph Curry has an innate ability to shoot the basketball. Not saying that you can't become a better shooter, But Steph Curry, like that's a gift. And then he worked his butt off to enhance that gift. And so you see some guys with gifts and they don't work and like it don't work, you know? But like, so, but Steph Curry has a gift of shooting the basketball and then you work your tail off and enhance it, right? Like, so that is a part of my gift. Like my basketball IQ, no matter what level I've played at, I've always been a savvy player. Yeah. And, you know, that's— so back to the original, yes, that was part of the reason that we beat the Celtics was because of our basketball IQ.
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