Draymond on Kyrie & Klay returning + Gary Payton interview | The Draymond Green Show

What's up everybody? Welcome back to the Draymond Green Show. This is episode 8 and I had the opportunity to have an incredible conversation with a Hall of Famer, a legend, town legend, incredible defensive player, 9-time All-Defensive First Team, the legend, none other than the Glove. Like I said, town legend. Obviously, you know my ties to the town. OG who since I came out here, just kind of always tapped in with me and always showed love. And obviously everything's come full circle with young GP, the young glove, being with the Dubs and playing incredible basketball. I know his pops is proud. And so we had an incredible conversation and my favorite part of the conversation was the very beginning.

And—

I think selfishly that was my favorite part of the conversation. So you all would definitely have the opportunity to hear the conversation. I think it was fantastic. And as you know, you know, we both can chat it up a little bit. That's kind of what we do. So I'm looking forward to that. And I'm looking forward to sharing that with you guys. But first we need to talk about a few things going on around the association, starting with— Draymond Green. I think everybody wants to hear about my thoughts on the Warriors Nuggets game that was postponed when I was in COVID protocol. And the reality is it probably helped me because that was one less game that I missed. So I only ended up missing 2 games. And then obviously getting back the other day against Miami, first game back at Chase Center. Felt good to be back with the guys after missing a couple games. Sitting there watching it on TV sucks. And for me personally, I'm sitting there watching on the TV like, "Go! Blitz 'em! Go, go!" Like feeling like I'm there and those guys can hear me. So it definitely was great to be back on the floor. I think I had a pretty good first night out against Miami. I thought I was gonna finish to get that game with 20 assists. After having 10 assists in the first half, but it didn't quite go that way. But nonetheless, it was a great win for us. But speaking back to the postponement of the game, I thought it was complete bullshit. And the reason I did was because, as my tweet said, you put certain rules in place so you don't have to deal with that. And they didn't follow those rules. Denver didn't follow those rules. You know, so you add a couple guys here that you say questionable. Due to these injuries that no one can say, oh, that guy can actually go out there and play. But yet a night and a half later they're out there playing, you know? So I thought that was garbage. I thought it probably should have been a forfeit. 'Cause now we're gonna have to go back to Denver on a back-to-back. We have a game March 8th versus the Clippers at home. Now we have to go play in Denver March 7th, play at home against the Clippers on March 8th, and then fly back to Denver March 9th to play against Denver March 10th. So as I said in my tweets, advantage Denver, and a game that we would have won is now probably a scheduled loss. And I thought that was totally unfair. You can even look at the Brooklyn Nets that, you know, a team that had 3 games postponed and, you know, we cut them a little bit of slack because I'm not quite sure that the rules were exactly intact when they team got hit with COVID Yeah.— but you canceled 3 games in a row. That would've been 3 losses for the Brooklyn Nets. Now say it comes down to us versus the Brooklyn Nets in the finals and that, and that changed the home court advantage. It's unfair. And so I thought it was garbage. I thought it should have been a forfeit on Denver's behalf. Obviously we're not making that thing a forfeit, but you can clearly tell they took advantage of the rules. They added guys that's questionable. Said those guys couldn't play so they didn't meet the threshold of the minimum amount of players to play a game. And then yet our team is sitting there in Denver with no, for 3 days and doesn't play a single game and then it's gonna have to go back. So I didn't think that was fair. We've had to play games without our guys, with myself being one of those guys. And yeah, you know, we could have did the same thing. Mm-hmm. Going to Toronto where, you know, some of us didn't play in that game. We could have put more guys down as questionable as well and did the same thing. And so if you put rules in play, stick by them. It can't be a case by case basis because it changes for everyone and it's a competitive advantage. So I thought that was totally unfair. I thought it was garbage and I thought it should have been handled way differently by the league than it was.

Yeah.

Speaking of COVID situations, Kyrie returning, and Kyrie is returning tonight. And I think we're all excited as just as a basketball fan, you're excited to see Kyrie join that team and, you know, bring that team to full strength. They prepared to play with Kyrie. And so now that he's getting the opportunity to do that only in road games, as we know, it's exciting. If, you know, Kyrie is one of the most exciting players to watch in the league. You know, he's gonna— Kyrie is kind of that, you know, 6'1", 6'2", whatever Kyrie is, but walks around with shoulders like he's 7 feet. You know, so he's gonna come back straight pedal to the metal. No trying to find the rhythm. It's not how Kyrie operates. So I'm looking forward to that. I think all basketball fans is looking forward to Kyrie getting the opportunity to play. So that will happen tonight in Indiana. And I think Indiana might wanna watch out. 'Cause I know that boy is coming back with— I'm sorry, that man is coming back with a vengeance and it's gonna be good. So I'll be tuned in and locked in watching that one before— if it lines up with when we play. I think they play an hour before we play. So maybe I'll get a chance to see a little bit of it, but if not, I'll just catch it on film. 'Cause I am excited to see Kyrie and his shiftiness get back out there on that floor with his scoring ability and—

Yeah.

I mean, we all know Kyrie's an incredible player. So definitely looking forward to that. Kyrie joining back with the Nets. Quinn Snyder made some comments the other day where he said, "I should be in the MVP conversation." And I actually spoke about it in my press conference the other night and said, "I agree." And the reason I agree is because if you can't watch me play and realize that scoring the basketball isn't, that makes you great, as I always say, you probably just don't understand what you're watching. And yet, you know, so many people, everybody and they mom, I always tell football player friends of mine, I'm envious of you guys because you have 11 guys running out there on your team, 11 guys on the other team. People can't begin to even try to come up with what coverage you're in or what defensive scheme you're in, what read was wrong.— who catches flack? Like a receiver for dropping the ball, or running back for not running the ball well, or quarterback for throwing a pick, or a DB getting burnt. But sometimes when that DB get burnt, it's actually the free safety fault. But because it's so much going on on the football field, people can't really make that out. And so I always tell my football guys who are my friends that play football, is I'm envious of you guys because everyone and their mom thinks they know the game of basketball. And it is so far from true. I always tell people, I study this game every single day for hours on end, as most people do in their craft. Yet they think they know the game better than me. And this is what I do for a living. This is what I study daily. What you give your all to is what I give to the game of basketball. And yet people think they understand the game as good as us. And so—

Yeah.

When Coach Snyder said that, I was very appreciative of it because I do feel that way. I do feel like I'm one of the best players in the league. I do feel like every night I am doing incredible things to make sure my team wins the game. Now obviously, you know, I play next to the ultimate MVP candidate in Steph Curry, but I do think I should get some consideration. And you know, that consideration may not be top 3, as there are so many great players in the running for that award. But just to be up there on that list, in the top 10, being considered for that award, I think is incredible. And I think with all the things that I do, I can't disagree with Coach Snyder. I agree 100%. But we know how it goes, you know, you're not averaging 25, 30 points a game. You don't really get any acknowledgement for that award. And it's fine. It's fine.

Yeah.

As we all know, I do have my eyes set on that Defensive Player of the Year award. And so, you know, that's my goal and that's what I'll continue to push for. That award really means a lot to me. And you know, I'm trying to add that to my trophy case, add another one to my trophy case. So I definitely agree with Coach Snyder and I hope those voters agree too. Let's send a couple votes your boy way. That's all I ask for. And then before we get to, The interview with the OG, I think lastly, we are all excited and anticipating Klay Thompson's return. You know, a lot of people made something of Klay walking off the court holding up 6 fingers in his warmup the other night. And a lot of people are saying that he was holding up 6 fingers, meaning 6 days until his January 9th return. Unfortunately guys, I get the same information you get. I get it right off the internet. Klay Thompson's possibly returning on January 9th. What I can tell you is this guy's been flying around the facility, and I don't just mean on the basketball court. He's breezing through, he's hype, he's Draymond Green, let's go, this, that, and the other. I mean, his energy is through the roof. So if that takes us to a January 9th Klay return, return, then maybe those 6 fingers were about 6 days. If not, we know he's somewhere within the next couple weeks. And I know I'm looking forward to that just about as much as anyone, if not more, to reunite with my brother. Guy who I've played with my entire career, but that I've had the opportunity to win 3 championships and— 3 championships. Go in the trenches with every single night. I am looking forward to that. I understand and know what he's been through over these last couple years, 2 and a half years. And you know, just seeing all the good days, the bad days, it was a roller coaster. I mean, it was legitimately roller coaster. Like some days he walk in and he doesn't, he wouldn't talk to anyone. Like he just walk in and like just sit there and like go on about his business. And then some days he walk in and he's like loud as hell. And Juan Toscano Anderson, younger guys like that who doesn't really know Klay, he said, "Man, I don't know how to read Klay. Like sometimes he say hi to me and he's cool and he talks. And then sometimes he just walk past with his head down and doesn't say anything to anyone." And I'm like, well, the guy who says hi to you is probably more of the guy that Klay is. But what you do have to understand is that is also a guy who's dealing with the ultimate frustration. A guy who loves basketball and competing just as much as anyone that has had that snatched away for the last 2 and a half years while he sit back and watch you and I play the game that he loves so dearly. And so I understand it. I don't think there's any ill will to it. I know there's no ill will to it because that's just not who Klay Thompson is. But just having to explain that to the guys and now they're really starting to see Klay the energy that he brings to the facility, the energy that he brings to the organization and to this team because he's just been flying through that facility over the last week or so. And so yeah, man, I'm hoping this January 9th versus the Cavs is long overdue. And like I said, he deserves it. And so, you know, this is gonna be—

Uh.

It's gonna be monumental. Like the basketball world is waiting for Klay Thompson's return. It's not just the Warriors fans, it's not just people in California or NBA fans. The basketball world is awaiting Klay Thompson's return and we're all anxious, we're excited. I can't wait. And obviously for me, that's just furthering me deeper into pastor's paradise. So what more can I say? I'm thrilled about it. I'm looking forward to my brother's return and I don't think we're far away. So stay tuned. Klay Thompson's return is on the brink. He's coming up and y'all better watch out. This is going to get interesting and it's going to get really fun. Maybe fun for you, maybe not. Depends on where you stand. But I definitely think it'll be really fun for us. So, that's what we got, man. And, you know, without further ado, I would like to welcome, as I said before, the legend, the OG, the Oakland native, the Seattle Supersonic legend, not to be confused with the OKC Thunder legend, the Seattle Supersonic legend, none other than the Glove himself, OG Gary Payton Sr. Man, I am honored to have a Hall of Famer, a GOAT, the Glove, man, welcome me to his city, allow me to come out here and be at home, you know, and do great things in this city, in the town, I should say, in the town.

Yeah.

You know, born and raised Oakland, California, Skyline High School, Oregon State number 2 pick, And as I said before, Hall of Famer of the glove, man, I am honored to welcome Gary Payton Sr. That is Gary Payton Sr. GP, what's happening?

What's going on, my young fellow, man? What's happening with you?

Man, nothing much. It's been a rough go at it, not only for the NBA, but I see a lot of people that I know starting to test positive, man. So just trying to get through that. How you feeling?

I'm feeling good. You know what I'm saying? I'm just staying away from all that.

Yeah.

You know, I was coming to cover y'all games and then I stopped coming, man. I said, and I'm around these kids too, you know, 'cause I, you know, I coach Lincoln University out here and I'm around these kids, man. So tomorrow is gonna be tough. Our first day coming back from Christmas break and they're gonna be tomorrow. I'm gonna get them all tested tomorrow to make sure that we'd be good. So, you know, I'm just trying to stay away from that too. You know what I'm saying? It's just unfortunate that you got caught up in that and stuff with that because you don't know who comes around you, you know what I'm saying? Off some crazy stuff like at the game. You know what I'm saying?

You don't know what— Absolutely.

So what happened, but I know you'll get through it. You'll fight through it. You'll be fine.

Absolutely. Speaking of you coaching, you're coaching at Lincoln University. How is that going for you? I know, you just now getting into it and coming in to change a program around. How's that going?

Dray, you know what the good thing about this program is? It is what you saying to change it. It's a starter program. Coming outta COVID, you know you don't have a chance to go and recruit. You don't have nothing to do like that. You gotta see kids off of videos. And I'm just gonna be honest, this is a different era for me. You know, it's a different, kids are different. You know what I'm saying? It's a different era, man, because these kids don't, want to work. They think that you gotta give it to 'em, and basically this is not AAU. I'm a different coach. I'mma scream, I'mma yell, I'mma get into your chest. I'm gonna do that. That's just the way I am. And I gotta have kids that can deal with that. And I gotta recruit kids. And then you gotta worry about sometimes kids who you gotta be sometimes, don't go at 'em that way. You gotta know how to talk to some of these kids. But some of these kids gotta understand, I'm not gonna baby you. If you come and do what you gotta do on the floor, I'll let you do whatever you wanna do. But you're not gonna come in here and have acid and then think that I'm gonna just say, "Okay, cool." You know what I'm saying?

Absolutely.

So it's been a progress, but I think I'm getting through it. I got a great staff with me. And I think we're playing okay for a team that we have.

That's great. I know we have spoke about me coming over there one of these days, obviously getting through this, but— Like I said before, just let me know when, you know, I love to come through and holla at the guys.

Yeah, I was gonna talk to you about that. They don't have the privilege to meet guys like you right now. I think that they need to work, you know what I'm saying? You are privileged to come and talk to them and they don't get that. And you know, but before the year is over, I want you to, 'cause I got two guys here that I think that will really benefit from talking to you about how your journey was to get to the NBA, how hard it was, tough it was for you to work, coming up from what you did. Like what you said just a minute ago, I had much worse where I stayed at.

Absolutely.

Kids don't get that, man. They don't get that to come and become who you have became because you done went through most worse things and seen worse things, but you built yourself up to be the person who you are now.

Absolutely. Nah, I definitely appreciate it. And speaking of that, you know, just kicking this thing off, I'd be remiss If we don't talk about the young glove, young GP the second. You know, I know everyone's asking you questions about him on the floor and obviously we can talk about that. But as a father myself of Draymond Green Jr., obviously I have two daughters, but you're a father of a daughter as well. It's different raising girls than it is boys. And for me, I try, you know, You know, what I struggle with daily is what's too much and what's not enough. You know, like what's giving him too much and what's not giving him enough? Because the reality is we grow up and, you know, you growing up in Oakland, me growing up in Saginaw, we grow up and I know for me, my goal always has been, I don't want my kids to live the same life.

Mm-hmm.

That I lived growing up. But in saying that, I am who I am because of the life that I lived. And trying to figure out that balance and like, yeah, you're not gonna live the life I live and like, I can give you more, but like, I still wanna teach you how to get it on your own. And like, what's hard work and what's determination and how you push through that. Can you give me some insight on that? Because that's what I wanna know, 'cause that is my daily struggle in life. And like I said, especially in raising my son more so than my daughters.

Draymond, that's a great question, a great ask of advice. You do know that our daughters are gonna be father guys. They're gonna be father guys. That's just the way it goes. Our son is gonna be rebellious against us, and I'm telling you right now, your son is gonna be rebellious against you because he's named after you. And once he goes to school, people are gonna be like, "Oh, you not your dad. You can't be like your dad." And they're gonna tease him. And he's gonna get a lot of, he's gonna get mad about that. But because who you are and who I was growing up and we had the life that we did, we didn't wanna give our kids the same lifestyle. Correct. That's very correct. But I say this, don't give him too much. Make him work for stuff. Give him chores. Give him things to do. Make him go and be with his sisters and pick 'em up or do something like that. Make him have a responsibility. With Gary, Gary II, he was with me all the time. He learned how to play basketball. He learned how to do the things. He was around me. And I compliment you from doing that with Christmas with your son, having him sit on the bench. You giving him an experience of what he can become and get. And that's what you want him to do. But don't give him as much. Don't feed him. Don't keep feeding him. Make him work for stuff that he needs to work for. With my son, I think Gary II is a good example. He didn't get drafted. He didn't do like the way I was. He came behind me at Oregon State.

Mm-hmm.

He did a great job at Oregon State for 2 years, but then when he got in the NBA, it struggled for 6 years. And now he has found a home with you guys at the Warriors because it's a program or organization that fits him and the coach staff and the players around him fit him. And that's what his struggle was.

Bill, Bill.

Running around G leagues and doing that type of stuff and learning how hard it is to struggle. And I'm glad that he struggled because now he knows how to get through it. And I appreciate the work he did because every summer he had to work, work, didn't know what team he's gonna be on, didn't know if he was gonna sign with nobody. Now he's in that position where he can get away from that because he's found that struggle and he found the way how to work. And I'm glad he worked. But I stay out of his life though, Draymond, which people don't understand. You see it? I don't be around all the time. Mm-hmm. I let him be Gary, not Gary Payton, because it's only gonna be one Draymond Green. It's only gonna be one Gary Payton.

Absolutely.

Ain't just named after us, you know what I'm saying? So I tell my son, don't try to be like me because you can't. You be next to me, be on the wall next to me, and we'll be together. You know what I'm saying?

Absolutely.

So it's always that way to just teach 'em that way. I think just teach your son that way, Let 'em do what they gotta do. And if he calls or if he asks for some assistance, yes, I'm gonna give him assistance. I'm gonna tell him what's on my mind and what's on my heart. I'm not gonna sugarcoat it with you. If it's not right, I'm not telling you it's right. If it's wrong, I'm telling you it's wrong. And it's point blank. You don't have to like it, but as you know, I went through this before you did. And remember that.

Mm-hmm.

And I'm always gonna tell you, I went through the ups and downs too, and that's just the way it goes.

Absolutely. Nah, I appreciate that, man. Like I said, that is— like, I go through that daily, and for me, I try to talk to guys who— and just not only former athletes, but really and specifically African American men who are successful, and I look at their kids, and they're doing great things. And by the way, it's funny because I was just having a conversation in a group chat with my boys. Great things don't mean money. Like great things don't mean they're making a ton of money. It's how they carry themselves. You know what I'm saying? Like GP, young GP, you know, GP ain't made a ton of money thus far in his career, but the way he carries himself, the way he goes about his business, you can just tell he's raised right. And so many times you see younger children of wealthy individuals or rich individuals, as we say, and they're a wreck, you know, and they don't know who they are. And quite frankly, we all go through that, right? Where we trying to figure out who we are, you know, but sometimes you see it at a totally different level and kind of struggling with identity And anybody can go through that. You can be raised the exact same way that GP2 was raised and go through that. But it says something about the fathers. And so that's something that I definitely wanted to dive into. But speaking, like I said, number 2 pick of the Seattle Supersonics. I've done my research, but also watched you growing up. You struggled your first couple years. You figured it out, you become the Glove, and you go on to make 9 straight All-NBA teams. What was that key to you figuring it out and then going on to have a career, Hall of Fame, the Hall of Fame career that you had?

Draymond, you know what? When I came out, I was very arrogant. I was very brash. Thought I knew everything. That was it. Didn't have no work ethics like that. And what happened was I struggled for 2 years, but I didn't have the coach that can help me get outta that. I had Casey Jones, who was a coach who came from the Boston Celtics, who had just won championships.

Absolutely.

He had Larry Bird, Danny Ainge, Robert Parish, Kevin McHale. You just throw the ball out to them dudes, man, and they gonna get it. You know, I'm a young dude coming in at 21 years old. I don't know what's happening, you know?

Absolutely.

So I'm trying to get it, and I struggled. And I was with Sean Kemp, and we were struggling, and then Seattle started talking about trading us. And then next thing you know, the ownership came in and said, "Let's talk, you two together. What is the problem?" And I just said, "I just don't have no guidance. You know, I don't have guidance. I don't have no work ethics. I don't wanna be here. The coaching staff doesn't support me the way it is." So we changed. Then when we changed, you know, we went to George Karl, and then George Karl brought in my savior. And like a second father to me, who was called, whose name, Tim Gergrich. And when Tim Gergrich—

Oh, Gerg.

And Gerg took me under his wing and made me go to the summer league. We played in Utah, we played in LA, we played all of them things. And I was in my third year going in the summer league, and that's what I needed. And I needed a work ethics to do different stuff, and I got it. And he put in the post-up game to me. He put in me pressuring the ball 94 feet. He put in all that stuff in my game and it changed my game. And then the following year we went to the Western Conference Finals, lost to Phoenix. I made the All-Star team and then I started making 'em every year after that. You know, and I went 9 straight years after that. So it was like, you know, I just needed a change and a guidance and I needed somebody who can push me. Mm-hmm. And I just had to stop being hard-headed. And I stopped being hard-headed and I started working out. Because some of these kids nowadays, they just think that their talent is gonna give it to 'em.

Absolutely.

It's not gonna happen because there's more people better than you in that NBA now. So you gotta get better because they're gonna take it from you. And I just started working on my game every summer, every chance I had to, and I got better, Draymond.

No, that's beautiful. So you go from there, you make 9 straight. I have a question for you though. You won 1 Defensive Player of the Year. And the reality is, with a name like the Glove, it's impossible that you only won 1 Defensive Player of the Year. But, you know, and I know when you did win Defensive Player of the Year, you were one, I think you were the first guard to win Defensive Player of the Year maybe in like 8 years or something like that. Guards don't really get that love. More often than not, it's usually rim protecting big men that get that nod. And yet, like I said, with a name like the Glove, you win one Defensive Player of the Year. That has to be impossible or else you don't get the name the Glove. You clamping people to get the name the Glove. By the way, funny story real quick. The Glove shooter came out, the zip up.

Yeah.

My brother got those. He was in the 5th grade, I was in 3rd grade. I got in trouble at school and I got some terrible Nikes, man. I couldn't get— my punishment was that I couldn't get the gloves. So I ended up getting them like my rookie year or my second year in the league when they came back out. And I actually played a game in them. That was a big moment for me in my life. 'Cause I remember back to third grade when that shoe came out, the hottest shoe out, I couldn't get the shoe because I got in trouble at school, man. I had some terrible Nikes. Yeah. My brother who was like an all-A student got the gloves. He wore 'em in the championship game. Our elementary school won the championship. He won them things in the glove, man. So I had to share that with you.

I appreciate y'all. I appreciate y'all.

Absolutely.

Appreciate you.

Appreciate you.

But you know, and speaking of Defensive Player of the Year, what do you make of it that a guy like yourself, I feel the same way. I'm in my 10th year and I think I should have maybe 3 or 4 awards, but nonetheless I have one. And I do understand that. What do you make of that?

Well, Draymond, you know what I look at it as this. At a point guard position, and I'm the only point guard to ever win it. So it's a difference. As a point guard, you have to change the game. I think me and you are in the same boat because we have to do more to win this award because of the simple fact is, is because of our position, and what we do. We changed the game because we changed all, everything around the game. Because we can pressure the ball, we can guard this guy, we don't get let people front us, we get our hands on balls, we do diving stuff, we make hustle plays. As what the NBA is going through right now, if a big man and he goes to the rim, they're saying he's a rim protector because he's stopping points going happen. Mm-hmm. We have to do everything, you know what I'm saying? Even get acknowledged of that and people have to pump it up. So that's why more big men win it because they're saying like, okay, people get beat. Now if they beat Draymond Green, then the center is protecting him and he's blocking shots and then he's starting fast breaks.

Absolutely.

I don't believe in that. I believe in if a person comes on the scouting report and say, if Draymond guards, if Draymond guards Chris Paul all the way up the floor, Chris, get a ball to what's called him and he has to start the offense. I think you've done what you've done.

Absolutely.

Because they're over there now trying to say, man, we keeping the ball from Draymond. Now, if Draymond over here, swing it all the way over to the other side 'cause we don't want him in the offensive play. I think you are become a weapon. And that's what it was happening with me and with you when we won it. We changed the game of way the people were working. If we get the main person off the ball to don't have it and get in the offense, then I think we've done what we supposed to do.

Absolutely.

And it's just, it is what it is, Draymond. I get it. I think you should have won a lot more too, but they don't go by that. They go by the guy who blocks a lot of shots. Who alters his shots and stuff like that. We don't go by the steals and stuff like that. And I think they should think about changing that and look at the all-around game. Look at all the stats. What has Draymond done to change the game of defense on other teams? Did he disrupt this? Did he do that? Yes. And then we'll start getting into it. And I think that's what it should be.

No doubt. And switching tunes just a little bit. You won 2 gold medals.

Right.

I'm starting to realize, man, our stats lining up a little, our accomplishments lining up a little bit now. I ain't got 9 All-NBA teams though, champ. You win 2 gold medals, but one in specific I wanna ask about is '96. And the reason I wanna ask about '96 is because that's right after the Dream Team, which in my opinion is the greatest USA team, the greatest team ever. Let's bar none, but for sure, I mean, ever, but the greatest USA team I think that's ever been assembled was the Dream Team. And you come after that in '96. What type of pressure was that after coming off of them just now allowing NBA players back in the Olympics. You get the Dream Team in Barcelona. We know how that story went. You got all the guys who you end up competing against for all your years. But what type of pressure was that on y'all coming back in '96 after the Dream Team had went over there and been so dominant?

Well, Dray, the only pressure put on us is that we had to beat teams the way they beat 'em. We knew we were gonna beat teams. We knew we were gonna blow 'em out. But they were always comparing us. Are they gonna beat them by 40 like they did? Are they gonna average this? Is they gonna do that? We wouldn't have no doubt in our mind that we were gonna win a gold medal. We just said, we're gonna be on our home court. We're gonna be in Atlanta. We had to do the dominance of what they had done. I wasn't worried about that because we had 6 of the players that already was on the Dream Team came to us and we only added 6 new ones. Mm-hmm. Including myself. So we were having more fun. To be honest, Draymond, the most competition we had was in practice.

Yeah.

When we played each other. When we played each other, that was the— that was when we had all the competition. But when we got on the floor, we dominated the game. And we started averaging winning by 35, 42. So it was no, you know, no question that we were gonna win it. We just wanted to be just like Dream Team 1. We had to beat, we couldn't be winning by 15, couldn't be winning by 20. We had to win by 30 or 40. And that's what we started doing. And we were having fun at it. You know, like I said, we had 6 other guys that already been on the Dream Team. We added 6 more and we did it. You know, we swept through that stuff and it was real fun. It was really, really fun.

Nice. That's incredible. And so you won '96 and 2000, and you know, I'm just moving up your incredible timeline here. Then in '03, '03, a lot of people try to compare this Lakers team today, which is LeBron, AD, Russ, Ariza, Dwight Howard, obviously a lot of guys who have or will be Hall of Fame players. And when they assembled this team, a lot of people said, "Oh man, this is like the 2003 team where they had Kobe and Shaq and they added GP, they added Karl Malone, they added all of these guys and they didn't win a championship." Now, obviously the season isn't over for them. And obviously it's not going the way that they want it to go. But I thought it was kind of crazy when everybody decided to compare y'all to them. Because number one, Kobe and Shaq were still—

In their prime.

In their prime. Where LeBron is still a great player. Like LeBron is still one of the, if not the best player in the NBA, you can always make that argument. Arguably the greatest player of all times, you can make that argument. But he is in year 19, if I'm not mistaken, year 19. And so they weren't in their prime. So right there alone, I thought was different. Y'all got them two young hogs in their prime going at it. And you were still rolling too. Like you continued on after that as well. And I think the only, like, Malone was older at that point.

He was way older, yeah. He was way older than Draymond. And you got that right. I was just only in my 13th season. That was it. I was only in my 13th season. So I was still rolling. I had just came off the All-Star team. I had did all that. I was just averaging 23, 24 points or whatever and went there. And all of a sudden what happened was that we had a lot of different stuff going on. I mean, remember Kobe had got in trouble in Denver. Shaq was feuding with Dr. Buss. And then Karl got hurt. And guess what, Draymond? We still made the championship.

Absolutely.

Still made the championship. I was the only one on the team that played all 82 games. I was the one who directed all the stuff and we had players that came in and fit in. I don't think this Laker team is nothing like our team in 2003 at all. I think we had players that knew their role. I think the Lakers team right now is, they hurt too. They're very hurt. Yes, they are.

A lot of them are hurt.

You know what I'm saying? A lot of them are not playing. And I don't think Russ is playing the way that he should be playing. Playing. It's a new thing to him to go and be the man so long. And then you gotta go with AD and LeBron and you gotta give them the ball. He's so much dominant on the basketball that he's not doing the things he did. I think he's thinking too much. I just went to the game, I just went to the game the other night on the 23rd and watched him play in San Antonio. And I think he thinks too much. You know what I'm saying?

Yeah.

And they rely on, LeBron so much that they're watching him. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. They don't play the way that you guys play. Like if people cut and move and do that, they're watching the basketball too much. And I just think the team is not that way. I think our guys were, Kobe was in his prime. He was a dog. You know, he can come out and get 50 anytime he wanted to. Shaq could dominate the inside. Myself as a point guard was running it. We were running a triangle, which was new to me and Karl, but Karl got hurt, you know, and he missed 60 games. He missed 62 games.

That's crazy.

And that was bad. It was crazy. We were 18-2 when he got hurt.

18-2.

And he got hurt. So it was crazy for us. And then all of a sudden, Shaq misses 40 games, Kobe misses 37. So, you know, that was just crazy for us. But I don't think this team that the Lakers got, are nothing like us. I think we were, we were more in our prime. A lot of us was way more in our prime than they were. And I, but I, you know, the guys on there right now, Draymond Green, like you said, Carmelo Anthony, Westbrook, all them dudes, Anthony, all of them gonna go to the Hall of Fame. Absolutely. It's just that they're hurt. They're just hurt right now. And it's just a struggle and it's hard to put a team like that together and you guys are not healthy.

100%. And I, you know, people always ask me like, who do you worry about in the West? Phoenix, Utah? Like, yeah, you know, Phoenix and Utah are really good teams. Like, I think, you know, when you roll down to it in the end, conference finals, all that, those two teams will possibly be right there with us. I have no doubt in my mind about that. But I always tell people like, you still gotta worry about the Lakers. Like, they still got LeBron James, they still got Anthony Davis, they still got, Russell Westbrook, they still got Carmelo Anthony. They still have guys that can beat you. And you can go on about it, about your day and your life and your months up until the playoffs and think that they aren't to be dealt with. As a player, as someone who gotta face those guys, someone in the same division, those guys still have to be dealt with. There's too much talent on that basketball court on that team.

Mm-hmm.

To not have to deal with those guys. So, I mean, you're talking probably legitimately 6 Hall of Famers. Hey, you gotta deal with those guys. So I don't really make too much of what's going on right now and what people are saying. You still gotta deal with those guys. But I do think Russell's overthinking it a little bit. And I understand it also. Obviously, I'm not who Russell Westbrook is. I don't have the ball as much, or never have in my career, as Russell Westbrook does. —but I do understand the sacrifices that it takes when you're playing with guys like that, that got it, that should have the ball. I understand the sacrifice it takes in trying to find that balance. For me, I completely stopped shooting. Like, totally stopped shooting because you're just trying to find that balance to get those guys the ball. So I definitely understand it a little bit, you know, where he coming from or what he's dealing with. Right. I understand that. But, you know, so y'all are expected to win the finals. Shout out to the Pistons. Detroit Pistons go on to win the finals.

Yeah.

State of Michigan, baby. You know, I respect that.

Yeah.

They go on to win the finals. And then you eventually, you sign with the Heat. And y'all go on—

Boston. Boston. And then—

Well, y'all go to Boston. You go to Boston. Draymond Green. For a year, one season. Yeah, right. And then you eventually, you sign with the Heat.

Right.

And y'all go on to win a championship. And I thought one of the most interesting things about that championship was, as great as Shaq was, D-Wade was the guy. D-Wade, absolutely.

Flash, Flash, and Draymond, let me give you a—

D-Wade was the guy.

Yeah, let me give you a story about that. We were struggling, Draymond, from all, for the whole year, we're struggling from day one. We were just like the Lakers now. We were struggling. They were giving criticism to Pat Riley about putting his team together. But all guys who older, they all in they late, you know, everybody had a time in their times in their teams or whatever. And they were criticizing us. Ben Gundy steps down, Pat Riley takes over. I'm the oldest one on this team now. I'm the oldest statesman. So I did like this. I started seeing Shaq be mad about we're not getting him the ball. And I just told Shaq, I said, Shaq, listen here. Look what young fella did last year. You see how he took over stuff, man. They lost in the Eastern Conference Finals. You guys lost in the Eastern Conference Finals. That's why Pat came and put all of us together. He wanted a championship. We're here now. We gotta stop this, man. I said, man, we're gonna make him be the first here, period. You gotta do this for me. And I told Shaq, I said, do this for me. Just let him be the first here. Let him go and do him. If we get you on the block, just get there and score. And when he agreed to it and bit in, man, D-Wade, I ain't never seen nobody perform like this ever. Yeah. He had 35. And I was like, this is incredible. 'Cause this young kid was giving them the blues. And he was making shots everywhere, getting to the hole, dunking. And he guided us all the way to that championship. And what it was, is just like you guys right now, Draymond, he had 4 guys around him that was ready for him to do whatever.

Absolutely.

We were ready to do, we were ready for the, if he passed it to us, he hit a shot, we were playing defense, we told him, "Go in the corner, get you some rest, guard the weakest man over there, and we'll have everything else under control." And that's when we start being a team. And then we just rolled through the Eastern Conference. And then all of a sudden we got in the championship, Dallas got up 2-0, and then we buckled down and then we beat 'em 4 straight. And then that was it.

All right, that was beautiful. Incredible. Congratulations. I always like to say that to any champ, 'cause people don't understand how hard it is to win a championship, man. And as someone who's had the opportunity to win a few championships, I'm starting to have an appreciation for guys that had great careers and didn't win. And the reason being is because people try to judge guys off like, "Oh, you didn't end up winning one, like all that don't count." It's so hard to win a championship, man. And so many things has to go right in order for you to win a championship. And people don't really understand that. Like I said a few weeks back, you know, people was talking about Chris Paul and saying, oh, he never won a championship. Chris Paul is a winner. And you can say whatever you want about Chris Paul. He hasn't won a championship, and that's unfortunate. And he still has an opportunity to. Yeah. But he's a winner. He is a winner. He's won— every team that Chris Paul has been on, he's made that team a better team. Absolutely. I spoke about, they sent him to OKC to essentially die on his deathbed. And not only did he resuscitate himself, he took that team to the playoffs. And because of what he did there, Sam Presti got him to a place in Phoenix of where he can have the type of success that they are having last year. And this year. So that's a very interesting thing that I think people don't really realize is how hard it is to win that championship. But in saying that, you go to Miami, you win a championship. I think for myself and for most people, if you're a basketball fan, Gary Payton, you're always gonna associate Gary Payton with the Seattle SuperSonics. That's just what it is. Right. And I think you may feel the same way.

Mm-hmm.

You've openly expressed that you had no desire to have your jersey retired in Oklahoma City. And even more importantly, you've been very outspoken about getting Seattle a franchise back. And both of those things, if they were to get a franchise back, which I think they will and I hope they do, it's an incredible city, Yeah. Would you be into coaching Seattle Supersonics franchise or front office of that franchise?

Yes, very much, Draymond. I would love to go back to Seattle and give them fans what they deserve. They should've never lost a team in the first place. Just bad ownership that was happening during the time where it just, it went down. Soon as I got traded, that ownership took that team to a low. A very, very bad look. And then it happens, you know? But you know, you gotta think about, I never played for Oklahoma. So why would I give the fans any kind of opportunity to go in there and say, "Ah!" And while my name and your Raptors where I never played at. That's nothing that I would wanna do. Seattle is what I'm about. Seattle made me. They made me for 13 seasons who I am. They made me a Hall of Famer. You know, they made me a top 75. They made me that type of person. So I would never disrespect Seattle in no kind of way of doing that to the fans. So if it, and when it does come back, and I know it will, yes, I'm gonna be a part of that organization to keep that going and keep the people going and get our basketball back. Like you said, Draymond, that is a great city, a beautiful city. Beautiful city. I still got businesses out in Seattle. You know, I got restaurants out there. So I'm very happy. I'm there all the time. And I, you know, I'm looking to move back. I wanna move back to Seattle. Seattle is the city, man. You know what I'm saying? I might be from Oakland, California, but I love Seattle. You know what I'm saying? I don't care about the rain. I don't care about none of that. That's a beautiful city. And yes, I would go back in a heartbeat.

That's beautiful. Before we get outta here, I know I've taken a bunch of your time. I got one last question for you. And the reason I love this, you know, I really want to ask this question, I should say, is because I don't know where I am. I didn't even want to look it up because I think it would have ruined my day. But you're 4th all time in technical fouls. And obviously I got my fair share of techs myself. Do you know who the 3 guys are before you? Ahead of you, I should say.

I think it's Rasheed. Wallace, he's number one. I think Dennis Rodman.

Uh-huh.

And it can't be you this quick.

Nah, I ain't got enough years under my belt.

Yeah, you ain't got enough years like that. And who else is it? Karl Malone?

Okay, so it's you, Karl Malone, well, like you said, Rasheed, then you got Karl Malone, Chuck. Oh, it's Charles?

Charles. Charles used to get a lot of checks too, man. Yeah, he did. He used to always talk crazy, man. Yeah, yeah. I thought Dennis Rodman, 'cause he was getting crazy at times, man. But yeah, I believe Charles. I believe Charles, yeah. 'Cause I know Draymond Green was number one. I know Karl had a lot of 'em. And then I didn't know Chuck though. I thought Chuck was below me. But yeah, it's cool. Yeah, it's not sport, man. We used to get texts, man. I'm telling you, I used to get 'em all the time. You know how y'all get like 14, 15 and get suspended? Shit, I would've been suspended about 4, 5 times, man, the whole year. I was getting them, man. I didn't care. I didn't care about none of that.

Hey, I tell you what, and looking at that list, obviously 3 Hall of Famers, one who I think should be a Hall of Famer, Rasheed Wallace, who, Draymond Green was an incredible, incredible player, incredible talent.

And I hope he do get that nod one day.

But I'll tell you what, if me getting texts means I can end up in that conversation with that group of guys, come on, NBA, I'll take more of them texts. I tried lessening them things, but once I saw this list, I said, I need to be up there. So if that's what's gonna help me get to the Hall of Fame, put me right up there with those guys. I'll take it.

[FOREIGN LANGUAGE] Hey man, look, do what you do, man. If you feel like you could do it, you know how to control it. I did the same thing, man. I just, you know, like I would always call, I would always talk to you when I see you. I just said, when it's time for you to calm down, just calm down. Just go over to the referees and talk to 'em. And I've seen you done that in the last couple of years is where you having a better relationship with the referees. Once you do that, they'll give you one every now and then. Who cares? Who cares about that? You know what I'm saying? It's just that you have to learn yourself. All right, it's not the right time for me to get a tech for my team. You know what I'm saying? Let me just go ahead and do this, but I'm gonna get this one because I think this is crazy. You know what I'm saying? Ain't nothing wrong with that. I did that all my career. I did it all my career, Draymond. I used to go to referees before and say, look here, I ain't having a good game, man. Gimme a tech, man. You know what I'm saying? [LAUGHTER] You know what I'm saying? Just make it look like you just, you know, we argue. But it's like that, man. It's your emotions. You just play from the heart like I did.

Absolutely.

You play from the heart. You can't play no other way. It is what it is. If you get in that moment, man, and you get into that, people have to understand that you are a winner. You do not wanna lose, and you think that the cause was bad, which some of 'em and mostly of 'em be bad. You know what I'm saying? So don't worry about it, man. Keep playing your game. Don't change your ways, man. Change— do what you do. If it's gonna make you get better and it's gonna make you do what you gotta do, do it. It doesn't matter. Long as you being productive with it and y'all winning, don't worry about nothing else.

Absolutely, man. OG, I appreciate you coming on. I thank you for taking the time. Basketball legend, NBA legend, Hall of Famer, but more importantly to me, city dirt. I love dearly a town legend, Town Business GP. Thank you, thank you, I appreciate it.

Appreciate you always, fella. Anytime you want me, man, you know you can come get me, man, you know? Let's do that domino thing again, man.

Hey, now, let's get it. Throwing bones on them people, yes sir.

Yes sir.

Appreciate you, OG.

Always love.

Wow, I hope y'all enjoyed that interview as much as I enjoyed that interview. I hope you took some things away that I was able to take away because like I told you, one of my favorite questions and one of the things that I wanted to know the most as a father of two little girls, but also, but as you saw my son, that's just something that I want to know because it's something that I struggle with daily on always trying, just trying to figure out like, Am I too hard on him? Am I not hard enough on him? Am I giving him too much? Am I not giving him enough? Is it just right? There's no right answer. There's no handbook that someone gives you and say, "Here, here, here, this is Parenting 101." It just doesn't work that way. It is trial and error as a parent. You just going with what you think is best. Like your mom, your dad, whoever, can tell you all that they want about being a parent. And ultimately you're still going to go with what you think is best for your child. Because a part of that is also you knowing your child, right? And you building that relationship with him and you knowing what buttons to press, what buttons not to press, you know, how something may bother him or her or how it may not. Like that is parenting. It is no handbook that anyone gives you. People give you a little advice, And then you have to figure it out from there. And so I was extremely thankful for the way GP answered that question in particular, but just also him sharing, you know, his love for Seattle and how he would get back into it if that city got an organization back. Speaking on his current team and the job that he's doing and trying to recruit and those struggles, I thought it was incredible. I was extremely, extremely pleased with the interview. And, but more so than pleased, honored to go to school. 'Cause that's what it was for me. It was school, taking in knowledge from one of the OGs and seeing what can I use to apply to my own personal life, to apply to my career. I thought it was incredible. And, you know, I never— I'm honored. I don't ever get tired of get— when I had an opportunity of talking to Gary Payton Sr. It's always a treat. And so I hope that's what y'all took away from it as well. And obviously, you know, he and I gotta run all— we always got a standing domino game going on. We always looking forward to that. By the way, new show coming out, Throwing Bones, and GP is one of the guests on one of the episodes. So make sure y'all tune in to "Throwin' Bones." That's coming out later this week, Thursday. And I think it'll be a great show. It is, you know, we sitting there chopping it up, playing dominoes. I absolutely love playing dominoes. Whoever's out there listening that think they can throw them bones, holla at me, 'cause you can't. I promise you, you can't. I play like a, like— The best domino players I've ever seen, are in prison or did time in prison. And I play like those guys. So see me if you want to, but that's a wrap. Another episode of Draymond Green Show, episode 8. I'm out. We got Dallas coming up this week. Check it out. We got the Pelicans coming up this week, trying to close in on a 3-0 week. And I think— is well within reach if we go play our game. So until next week, much love. Draymond Green Show. I'm out.

Bye.