In a YouTube conversation hosted by Speaker A, Draymond Green and Metta World Peace analyze Shai Gilgeous‑Alexander’s performance in the Thunder‑Pacers NBA Finals, urging him to increase his shooting volume (“shoot 35 times”) and adopt a more aggressive mindset. Draymond draws on his experience with the Warriors’ system, emphasizing the balance between ball movement and individual assertiveness, and critiques media narratives that pressure players to limit shots. Metta shares personal anecdotes about his career, including his role as a defensive specialist, his emotional reaction to winning a championship, and the convoluted path that led him to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers, detailing negotiations with the team’s front office. The dialogue interweaves strategic basketball insights, reflections on media influence, and behind‑the‑scenes stories about player decisions and team dynamics during the finals.
Chapters
OKC is really two people, Jalen Williams and Shay. But with OKC, because they play such a one-on-one type of style, that ball is sticking to their hands, right? And so thinking about, you know, Indiana and what they did with Shay, he was 9 for 20 tonight. I want y'all to talk about just his play. Like, what does he need to do more of, right? To get OKC over the hump.
Man, I mean, I actually don't want them to win, so I actually don't. I love OKC. I think Shai is dope. Like I said, at times he's better than MJ, but I don't wanna give anything. I want to actually get the wrong information. Like, hey, slip your legs and go behind your back.
All right, let's talk about, let's talk about how to burn.
No, I got, I got some, I got some.
So you got a gym? Give me a gym.
Because my thing is this, as someone who comes from a system of like, you, you got Steph Curry at times, Steph Curry gonna be the guy. And do everything that Steph Curry does. But at times you have to, you have to know when to use Steph Curry against everyone else. And we were not really trying to use Steph Curry. So as someone who's lived through that, and I see what's going on in the series, I think honestly, and not—
Yeah.
I think Shay gotta be more aggressive. I don't, when I watch that game tonight, I'm like, when's Shay gonna come? When's, when he gonna pause? When, when he gonna, when, when is Shay going to do what we know Shay to do? And that's someone who's been in these situations. Don't get it twisted. You can hear somebody say Shay shooting too much is gonna hurt them. And try to lessen it a little bit. This is human nature. And when I watched that game tonight, I never felt like Shay said, I'm taking over this game, I'm gonna win this game and do that. And so I said all of that to say, as much as I think ball, like I come from a system of like, you move the ball, you hit the open man and that's that. That's not their system. And so what, What I would say is to Shea, don't fall into the trap of the world because the media around the NBA Finals is bigger than any NBA game media in the history. Don't fall into the trap of what the world is saying of like, yo, he's shooting too much, he foul bait, fuck that.
But you gotta have the flow of the game.
Yeah, shoot it 35 times.
You gotta go for it.
It's true, it's like my rhythm when I played with Kobe, I only got one title, but during that time, I had to be the best role player I could be. So sometimes I had to shoot the shot that was in rhythm, even though I wasn't in rhythm. I didn't feel comfortable 'cause I don't have, I'm not taking 20 shots like I'm used to. And on top of that, sometimes I would miss and I would have to go 2 of 9. And then the media's like, "Why are you shooting? Oh, don't shoot." Then you got the arena listening to the media and the arena's like, "No, don't shoot, Draymond Green." I gotta shoot it. Right. Because in flow, and Powell is going towards the offensive boards right now. So as if his big has come out, if I shoot it, now he got a chance to rebound it, which he's done before, right? So it's like, it's true. Now in SGA's role, same thing. You can't listen to what other people saying. You gotta do what's best for your team.
So in saying that, because what you must understand is, I watched these things as a 16-year-old and I remember, but I've always been interested in the game, right? Like what they're saying about the game. And so I remember watching you play in those finals and watching you play in those playoffs. And when you shot the 3 on the right wing, everybody like, why would he shoot that 3?
That's right. Bang!
Yeah, in real time, in real time.
Bang!
Congrats.
Is that, and I've heard the stories, you can correct me if I'm wrong. I've heard the stories of like you left the arena right after that in your jersey, in your uniform and went to the spot. Is that the thing that led to the feeling of like, yeah, I'm outta here, I don't need to shower, I don't need to do anything. I'm going to this club in LA, which probably was Greystone at the time. Time. I'm going and do this right now in my uniform because I know what that feels like. Is that the thing that led you to like all of those actions?
Not really.
Um, well, after game 6, I got, I got a little lifted. I wanna throw that in there. I went right to Equinox and got a little lifted 'cause I wanted to get, I wanted enough time to recover. So I got, I left the, the, um, Staples Got to Equinox at about 10:15, got a quick lift in, and then that carried over to Game 7. You know what I mean? Got the lift in. And then when we won, I mean, for me it was like, I felt like I would never win a title because I was so immature. I put my team at risk of losing. I had no emotional control for a long time. So when I won it, I was like, damn, I actually won it. Like, I didn't even realize we won until— Yeah. I looked at the clock and when the clock said 0-0, I'm like, oh, we really won. You know what I mean? So my mind was just all over the place and I just was, you know, I always wanted one. I never really wanted, I did want more, but I always said I want one. And then like, I was gonna be happy on it. Maybe if I'd have said I want 2 or 3, maybe I would've got 2 or 3, but I was really happy. And like that summer I partied, I drank. The next year we came, we got swept. We got swept by Dallas. Hahaha.
Hey, that's, that's funny. That's funny. But you know, I think, um, when, when I take a step back and I look at those series, I'll be honest with you. This year, and I've already said this on this podcast, this year Julius Randle completely bust my ass. Like nothing I could do about it. I made him take shots I wanted him to take. I did the things I wanted to do. He completely bust my ass. But I'll be honest, when Steph went out of the lineup, Steve asked me to, Draymond, we need you to push the ball down the floor every time we get the ball, as if we're on a fast break and somebody missed a shot, because we need to create advantage and we need to create mismatches. And if you just push it the way you push it, we'll create the mismatch and then we can get the ball to someone who can take advantage of the mismatch. And so that was my whole focus in the series is like, I'ma just get it soon. If it go in or if we miss, I'm coming back to the ball, I'm get it, I'ma push. We'll figure it out after. And I will say to you, I haven't said this to anyone in the world, but they'll know it now. When Steph went out, It was like, oh, I need to push the ball like that and I need to score. And in my career, I haven't really been in that situation much where like I need to push the ball, I need to anchor the defense, and I need to score. And so when we got into that situation, I could push the ball, I could anchor the defense, or I could push the ball, I could score, anchoring the defense was a little tougher, right? Like, those things played a part into who I was. How did you go about being Ron Artest who scored 20 points a game, 22 points a game in the NBA? to Metta World Peace, who may score 8 points or may score 4 points, but I'mma lock your guy up. I'mma bring that physicality. Because to me, it's the first time in my career actually where I had to like do all of those things. And it was—
It was difficult.
You look at what happened to us, it was impossible.
It was difficult, like, to go— imagine in your prime, contract year, you know, you're in your prime, and that's what was really difficult is like, you know, I'm like, damn, I can't really show nothing. Uh, there's no room. Like, so I said, you know what, I'm a role player for the rest of my career. I gotta hear people say, how am I getting old? From the year prior, I was averaging 25 in the playoffs, and then I got worse in 6 months. How hard I— I didn't get worse in 6 months. People like, he old now. I'm like, damn, I can't even back myself up, but I can't, I can't. And then you got Kobe. Kobe like, I don't care what they saying, bring that ball to me.
Middle.
In that corner. And you stay there. But it was tough. But you know what? I was like, you know, that was the toughest experience I had. And I said, you know, I'm just gonna be the best role player. And I was actually, I learned more from that than, you know, when I had the opportunity to score.
No, most definitely, man.
Talk about, um, I always wondered, you know, you play for Houston, you lost to the Lakers, they beat you, then you wind up joining the Lakers. Did Kobe reach out to you? Like, how did— what made you want to go to the Lakers? How did How did that transfer?
Well, initially I didn't want to go to the Lakers. I never wanted to go to the Lakers. Like, I had opportunity that people called me and, you know, whatever. I don't want to keep talking about it, but I always wanted to play against people. So I tried to go back to Indiana. I was always trying to go back. Well, first I was trying to go back to Houston. You know, I don't want to get into— I was supposed to go back to Houston and then things happen, which is just incredibly annoying. Then I said, okay, what's next? I'm always trying to think about the Knicks, but then Donnie Walsh was at the Knicks at that time. So I threw a quick signal out there. That didn't work. Donnie was there. We had the issues and the history in Indiana. So then I tried to go back to Indiana, but those conversations quickly went to— it was still fresh on people's mind and heart. Then I tried to go to Detroit. That's what I was trying to— Yeah. And then they was like, nah, we can't, you know, too much history. I said, listen, this is gonna be epic. Met Ron Artest with an Artest on the back of a Detroit jersey. I said, y'all missing the whole point. This is legendary. They was scared. I'm like, I'm not worried about, I got people in Detroit. I love Detroit. When I go to Detroit, you know, I got people, they love me in Detroit. Like the fans, they go crazy in Detroit. Like I literally got fans in Detroit. Yeah. So then that didn't happen. And then, but the first team to call me was the Lakers. The Lakers called at 12:01. I was like, they called me and my agent was like, David Bowman, hey, the Lakers want to speak to you. And the first thing I said, I was like, for fucking what? That's the first thing I said to my agent. These niggas just beat us. I don't even fuck with these niggas, right?
Yeah.
He was like, they want to sign you. I'm like, what? The Lakers? I said, I gotta call you back. I'm like, damn, like Dr. Buss, Phil Jackson. I'm like, this is crazy. Met with Dr. Buss that morning. We chatted. He was like, yo, I can't pay you what you deserve. We only got the mid. And I was like, don't even worry about it. Like, this is incredible. That's how I got to the Lakers.
