In this reaction monologue, Draymond Green discusses LeBron James' comments that youth basketball is being ruined by personal trainers. Green reflects on his own upbringing playing street basketball, emphasizing the value of learning the game organically and developing creativity through unstructured play. He argues that the rise of private trainers has turned basketball into a "rich kid's game," reducing imagination and leading to homogenized playing styles, though he acknowledges trainers have a place in modern development. Green then addresses fan questions, praising Michael Beasley's dribbling and shooting skills and expressing enthusiasm for a potential one‑on‑one showcase. He predicts Indiana will win Game 3 of the current series, citing home‑court energy. Green reacts to a recent photo of Victor Wembanyama (Wimby), expressing concern for his health after a past blood clot and respect for his personal beliefs. Finally, he shares a personal anecdote about his training roots at Michigan State, recounting his early NBA draft preparation with trainer Basil and video coordinator Jordan Ott, who has recently become the head coach of the Phoenix Suns, offering congratulations and confidence in his future.
Chapters
Bron discusses how the next generation are relying more on basketball trainers instead of just playing the game. I heard what Bron said. I know he said like, yo, I just went to hoop. And I agree with that. Like growing up, I actually didn't know, I didn't learn how to do a proper individual workout till I got to college. It's growing up, like I'm going to hoop. Like where's the nearest run? Drop me off, I'll play all day. Like that's what we did. We hooped all day. So I think there's a huge benefit to that because you just learn to see the game. Like you learn to see the game. I talked on Kimball the other night about my son and just like watching him play and like how he knew how to play. And he like, some of the stuff I know he pick up on naturally just because he's always around basketball. He watch it. And so you imagine growing up like, like we did, you playing basketball all day, the nuances and things you figure out about the game, it's different when somebody just putting you in a position to tell you to do this move. Like, how do you use your creativity? How do you learn like, "Oh man, I can do this," if somebody just say, "Do this." How do you know what you're about? How do you know what your game is if you never tap into it and just figure it out? And so I understand, like, I think, you know, there's a time and place for a trainer and I think, You know, with the— where the game has gone, like you need those resources in order to be successful. I feel like basketball used to be a poor man's game. Like we all played it, poor kids played it. We were poor, we had nothing, and it was our way out. Basketball is not a poor kid's game no more. Basketball is a rich kid game. Like the days of seeing LeBron James from Akron, Ohio, from a single mom, those days are, are, are numbered. Like they're not, because if you don't have the resources these days, like you can't make it. Yeah. Like it's become a rich kids game and basketball didn't used to be that. And so I think all of that goes into like with the trainers and stuff like, but that's, I also feel like that's why like you don't see as great a basketball as you did before because there's no imaginations. Everybody's doing the same thing, playing the same way. And I think a lot of that is due sometimes to having trainers. Not that having a trainer is a bad thing, but again, if you never get to use your imagination, then you just become a carbon copy of somebody else the trainer created. And so I agree with Bron to a certain extent. I think, you know, you, you do gotta get out there and play and you gotta get out there and just figure it out. 'Cause when you get out there on that court, ain't nobody to put you in a position. You gotta put yourself in the position. Ain't nobody there to place you. You gotta get there. So I think there needs to be a healthy balance, and I don't think that balance is near being found. I did not watch the Lance Stephenson, Michael Beasley one-on-one. These are fan questions, by the way. I did not watch it. I didn't know what time it came on, number one, but I did see like the back and forth before and after and saw some of the highlights. It looked very entertaining. One thing's for certain, we all know Michael Beasley's one of the best guys to ever dribble a basketball and like shoot the ball and put the ball in the hoop. Michael Beasley is one of the best that has ever done it. I don't think, you won't get many basketball players to disagree with that. And so I heard it was super entertaining. I think it was dope. I saw some people say it should be at All-Star Game. I think King of the Hill would be fun, but it kind of becomes a dunk contest. A lot of people don't want to get embarrassed. So how many people really do it? I don't know. We'll see. Before we get out of here, who wins Game 3? You got Indiana going home. I'm taking Indiana Game 3. I'm gonna take Indiana Game 3. Crowd gonna be electric. They haven't played well, so they gotta have a good game coming at some point. They ain't just gonna keep playing bad. And I'mma think, I think they saved it for game 3, first one at home. What is your reaction to Wimby the Monk? I saw a meme that said, uh-oh, Wimby went bald already. It's over for the league now. Much respect to anybody who's following their religion, who's following their beliefs, whatever it is that they believe. Much respect to anybody. I didn't know. I was a little surprised by the photo op, but I guess in 2025 you can't be surprised by any photo op. But yeah, when I saw it, the first thing I thought was like, is he in San Antonio? Like, I hope he's doing well. Obviously we remember he left with a blood clot, so I've been keeping my fingers crossed and sending up my prayers to the big man, just, you know, for everybody to be healthy. So I hope that means he's healthy. Moving forward to my guy, Spartan Dawg, Michigan State alum. He went to grad school at Michigan State. He's a Penn State undergrad. It's my guy, actually trained me for the NBA draft. So little quick story for y'all. I signed with Ron Shade coming out of college. Ron Shade is my agent. Ron, that's my brother still to this day. Ron is with Octagon Sports now, but Ron is my brother. Yeah. That's my guy. And I signed with Ron coming outta college and I went to Chicago where Ron lived for like 3 or 4 days and I was training. And it wasn't that the trainer wasn't great because I actually thought the trainer was great. Like when I go to Chicago, I still train with him. Like he's incredible. His name's Basil. Basil's incredible trainer. But I trained there for a few days and I told him like, yo, I'm gonna go back to Michigan State. And the reason I went back was more so it wasn't about the trainer or anything. It was about, I felt like I had grinded and became who I became at Michigan State. So literally my first 3 summers in the NBA, every summer I went back to Michigan State because I felt like that was the place where I go. And when I go there, I lock in like no other. I grind, I get to it. Like, and so that's where I felt comfortable, like going through my pre-drive grind at. So I went back there and who trained me for the draft, literally trained me for my pre-draft workout, was Jordan Ott. Jordan was a video guy, video coordinator at Michigan State. He had been the GA before, then he left and took the video job at Penn State, came back and took it at Michigan State and trained me for the NBA draft. Jordan Ott becomes the head coach of the Phoenix Suns. Shout out to J.I. J.I. came into the NBA with the Hawks, worked under Bud, super tight with Kenny, went to Brooklyn with Kenny, worked on the staff with Darvin Ham, the Lakers, went as Kenny's top assistant, Kenny Atkinson, at Cleveland, and yesterday, Or 2 days ago was named head coach of the Phoenix Suns. And man, to watch somebody like come from a video coordinator at Michigan State, GA, to like becoming a head coach in the NBA, so special. So I'm happy as hell for Jordan Ivey, not HBM, Brian Gregory, all Spartans. Paul Rivers, Spartan. Happy as hell for them. So congratulations, Jordan. Shout out to Jordan. I think Phoenix got a great one. Shout out to Jordan's wife, Jordan. They are the best. Known them since I was fucking 16 years old. And to see him become a head coach in this league and just grind his way up, it's absolutely incredible. And I know Phoenix got a great one. Yeah. When you talking X's and O's, one of the best in the business. Not a guy who's afraid to hear his own voice. Absolutely incredible to see. So I'm happy as hell for Jordan I. And like I said, shout out to him, shout out to Matt, shout out to the Phoenix Suns. They're locking in a great coach that I think will be there for the next 20 years if we want to be.
