In this monologue, Draymond Green reflects on the Warriors' recent road victory in Brooklyn, framing it as a statement win amid media criticism that downplays the team's schedule and talent. He addresses the barrage of negative narratives that have labeled the Warriors' dynasty as over, the players as washed up, and the front office as incompetent. Green recounts the franchise’s recent history, contrasting the early years of championships and deep playoff runs with the past two seasons marred by injuries, roster turnover, and poor performance. He highlights the emergence and development of young players such as Jordan Poole and Jonathan Kuminga, and the anticipated return of Klay Thompson and James Wiseman, emphasizing that the team's 12‑2 record is a product of this growth. Green stresses a realistic, process‑oriented outlook: while the team is currently atop the standings, they must stay dedicated, healthy, and continue improving to earn a genuine championship contention, warning critics not to count them out.
Chapters
It was an incredible game. I was really proud of the way our guys stepped up in that moment. That was, you know, a lot of people been talking a ton of shit like, oh, their schedule's weak and they haven't played anybody and that's why their record is this and that. And you know, I thought that was much of a statement game as a regular season game can be. You know, no statements are truly made in the regular season because none of the shit matters once you get to the playoffs. But if there was a statement game, or if there is a such thing as a statement game in the regular season, I thought that was one just because of the noise surrounding coming here to Brooklyn, playing against Kevin and James, which is always tough. Young team coming off a loss coming from Charlotte and having to bounce back from that, starting a road trip with a loss. I thought it was really, really, really a huge step in the right direction for our young team. I wouldn't say we're that young. It's kind of a mixture of old and young. But I also thought we could have played a lot better, which is encouraging because in order to beat one of the best teams in the NBA with two of the best players in the NBA in such a young point of the season for us coming on the road, I thought it was a big deal. But the encouraging part is we can play so much better and we beat that team the way we did. So some beautiful things ahead, man. We gotta continue to build, continue to grow. Starting to hear all the noise about, oh man, the Warriors are winning championship and blah, blah, blah. That shit's not real. We have a long, long, long way to go. But I am enjoying and embracing the process of getting there. Trying to help bring our young guys up to speed as fast as possibly can. And I think we're starting to see that with young guys like Jordan Poole turning the corner, Jonathan Kuminga as of the last week, starting to get minutes and really giving great minutes. And I can go down the list, but the reality is those young guys are coming along and we're 12-2 because of it. You Mm-hmm. know, when you think about the landscape of the Golden State Warriors and you look at the past, say, 7 years, those first 5 of those 7 years were brilliant. It was a championship followed by a Game 7 loss in the NBA Finals, followed by 2 championships, followed by a Game 6 loss after we lost 2 of the top 10 players in the world to injury in a matter of 48 hours. But then you go past that and you have 2 years in between that up until today. And those 2 years were not so pleasant. They were, it was a shit season where obviously Klay was out due to an ACL injury. Kevin had left, Andre had been traded away, and Steph broke his hand. If I'm not mistaken, 2 or 3 games into the season. It's funny because I was looking at, Steph showed me a clip the other day of a lineup that I was on the court with that year in film. It was myself at the point, Glenn Robinson III at 2, Eric Pascal at the 3, Amaree Spellman at the 4, and Willie Cauley-Stein at the 5. I think Glenn Robinson III is a very good player. I think Eric Pascal is a very good young player. Amari, in his time in the league, I thought he had really promising talent. And Willie Cauley-Stein is a very good young player. And then obviously I think I'm pretty decent myself. None of those pieces fit though. Right. And yet, You would see lineups like that all the time. That's just what we had to roll with. And during those times, a lot of fucking people wrote us off. The dynasty's over. Draymond's washed. He can't do this, he can't do that. Steph Curry has no help. He can't carry a team. You know, he always need help from, he needed help from Kevin Durant, blah, blah, blah. He can't carry a team. Klay's washed. He's this, that, and the other. They'll never be the same. Steve Kerr can't coach. Bob Myers is a terrible GM. You go down the list and the disrespect, it's unbelievable. I mean, you have to know the disrespect is unbelievable by the way Klay keeps speaking out on it. Klay doesn't talk about any fucking thing. Klay doesn't even fucking talk. And yet this guy keeps fucking going insane about the lack of respect that that we are getting as an organization, that we are getting as a dynasty. He just keeps going apeshit about it. But I get it because everyone wrote us off and yet here we are 2 years later sitting in first place in the NBA. And hey man, it's a lot of basketball left to be played. Like I'm not gonna sit here and act like, man, we're sitting in first place at game 60. Like it's game 15. Yeah. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. But as a champion, I know what it takes to be a champion. So I'm not worried about getting ahead of myself 'cause I know how hard it is to win a championship. But what I do know is we have a damn good team and we will continue to grow. We will get Klay back, we will get Wiseman back. And those are two more important pieces to what we're trying to rebuild here. And I think it can and will be really special. But all the fucking doubt over the last couple years. It's funny, I called my fiancée late last night and I was talking to her about all the doubt and just like all the shit. And she said some good things to me. It was actually beautiful to hear. But the doubt has been insane over the last 2 years. Yeah. To come back and be right back there at the top of the league with the good teams in the league today, with hopes of competing for a championship. It's a beautiful feeling. And I still think, you know, we get ourselves there. We know what it takes to win. We know how to get it done, but we're a long ways away. And we got a lot of improvements to make as the course of the season goes on. Yeah. But if we stay dedicated to the process of reaching, of getting the championship, dedicated to what it takes daily to win a championship, we can put ourselves in contention. And that's all you can ask for, is to give yourself a chance to be in contention. And I think if we continue to work, continue to stay committed, obviously, stay healthy and get healthier, we can give ourselves a real chance. And I like that. And boy, don't let us win a fucking championship because you gotta fucking hear it from me.
