Draymond GreenForward, Golden State Warriors

Draymond Green Reveals the Backstage Panic at Kevin Hart’s Roast

12 May 2026 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

1:10

In this candid monologue, NBA player Draymond Green recounts his experience preparing jokes for Kevin Hart’s roast. He describes working through material with fellow comedians Ray and Chris Spencer, feeling his heart in his stomach, and the intense nerves that accompany his first few jokes. Green shares how the fear of bombing and being booed loomed over him, and how backstage encouragement from Cheryl Underwood, Pete, and Shane Gillis helped calm his anxiety. He also references a recent personal highlight—sitting courtside at a Detroit Pistons game—juxtaposing that excitement with the pressure of performing on the roast stage, ultimately reflecting on life’s ups and downs.

Chapters

I'm working through the process of the jokes with Ray and Chris Spencer, huge help. My heart was in my stomach. First couple jokes, nervous as hell. You get that first laugh, you're like, "All right, cool. I'm good now." Like my biggest worry getting up there is like, I just don't wanna bomb. For me, people booing. How about that? You go onto a stage as a comedian, not a comedian. The one thing comedians don't want is to be booed. I'm getting booed before I started. Shout out to Cheryl Underwood. She actually came in before the live rehearsal and I'm sitting there and she come up to me. She like, "You got your jokes ready?" I'm like, "I got my jokes." But I'm nervous. Nervous as hell. She said, you've been to a family barbecue, you done grilled in the backyard. That's what this is. We sitting in the backyard grilling, talking shit with our family. So you relax, because I know you talk shit with your family, because you all you do is talk shit. Sitting next to Pete, Pete keeps telling me like, nah dude, you're gonna be fine, like this is cool, bro. Like, I'm nervous as hell. Then Shane Gillis come over like, y'all have no idea, I'm so fucking nervous. Once they start telling me that they're nervous, I'm like, all right, I guess I'm supposed to feel this way then. You talking about a hell of a week. Detroit Pistons game, sit courtside, first time sitting courtside at an NBA game. Boom. Follow that up, being on the Deyus, a roast of Kevin Hart. What is life and how can I complain? Woo!