In this interview, Warriors forward Draymond Green discusses how Jimmy Butler’s arrival changed the team’s dynamics, especially the lack of time to teach defensive terminology in the previous season and how a full training camp this year will allow the Warriors to build a more varied playbook. Green praises Butler’s extraordinary cognitive abilities, citing an anecdote about Butler’s domino‑playing skills and describing Butler as a “special” mind that can grasp complex concepts quickly. The conversation shifts to Butler’s hospitality, highlighting a memorable stay at Butler’s San Diego home where the team enjoyed a wine cellar that reminded Green of French vineyards; Green also mentions Maverick Carter’s admiration for the collection. Green reflects on his own 14‑year NBA career, emphasizing resilience, gratitude for health, and the importance of personal relationships over competition. When asked about Steph Curry’s dominant narrative, Green asserts he never feels like a footnote, noting Curry’s support and appreciation. Finally, Green talks about the addition of Al Horford, explaining how Horford’s presence at center will relieve some of the physical toll on Green’s body, and he expresses excitement to learn from the veteran champion.
Chapters
All right, we gotta rewind back to last season.
Okay.
Because you said when Jimmy Butler came here, he made things better. But it was this season, right? The next season where having him in training camp means maybe you guys would be more likely to win the championship. Did I summarize that correctly?
That's a great summary.
Okay.
That's exactly how I see it. You know, you get to go through a training camp, you get to learn terminology. Last year, Jimmy didn't know anything. Any of our defensive terminology. Um, due to the time and we needed to win games, we weren't able to expand the playbook. And not because Jimmy's not smart enough to pick it up. You just really didn't have the time to mess around with anything. So the moment you found something that worked, you just had to go to that. And in turn, it didn't allow us to create variety, right? Like the variety of things that you can create with Jimmy. Mm-hmm. And Steph and myself and different guys. We didn't have the opportunity to do that because we just needed to win games to try to give ourselves a chance. Having a training camp this year, it'll be different because you can build from the ground up. And I think for us, um, that's a little dangerous for others. Mm-hmm.
Jimmy did all that without knowing the names of things, the names of plays. Like, what kind of player do you have to be up here to get it that quickly?
He's smart. He's super smart. And he's not just that smart in basketball, but his brain is like a computer, a calculator or something. Like even if you ever see him play dominoes, the way he can count and see is unbelievable. But that's how he is on the basketball court. And so it takes a very special mind to be able to do that and still see and understand say the things that he want to say and get them across and help people understand without knowing how they process things takes a special guy. But he's special.
Jimmy said at his house in San Diego, Batman and Robin won at Domino's. That's him and Steph.
You should ask them. Number one, me and Ernie beat them. And then we played them again. And they won. Then we played them again and we won. So technically Batman and Robin lost and Superman came up out the booth. So, you know, yeah, that's what happened.
I didn't know that Steph didn't know dominoes that well, that he was under the wing of Jimmy Butler.
He was definitely under the wing of Jimmy. But Ayesha's Jamaican and we were playing the Caribbean way. We weren't playing the way that you count. We were playing the Caribbean way. Ayesha's Jamaican, so he, you know Steph. Steph's gonna lay in the weeds and act like he don't know and like do the whole thing and then he's just play after play after play. So miss me with that, he know.
Okay, okay. What was it like for Jimmy to even want to gather people at his home, to invite everybody in his home to have a little players-only kind of event?
The ultimate show of love and respect is to invite someone in your home. That's your most sacred space. That's the only place in the world where you know You can be you, you can do whatever you wanna do. And it's okay, that's your home, right? And like, for him to open his home up to us, I stayed at his house, everybody else went to the hotel. That was one of the best hotels in the world I ever stayed at. [LAUGHTER] That was great. But, you know, it's who Jimmy is though. Like, he's an incredible teammate. And to gather us all there in a space where he knew would keep us all like this and kind of offer everything that you needed to offer. Big Face Coffee Shop, like everything you could imagine. We had some of the best pizza in the world there. He was an incredible host, but it really meant a lot for him to open his home up to us. And I'll tell you what, I can't wait to go back 'cause that wine cellar, I felt like I was in France somewhere. Mm-hmm. In Bordeaux at the wine cellar, one of the wineries. It was amazing.
It's gotta take a lot to impress you with wine.
Listen, I called one of my big bros who taught me wine and who I know, like, he got a collection. And he was stunned. Like, as soon as I walked in, I FaceTimed him like, "You gotta see this." And he was stunned. He texted me about hours later. He said, I've thought about it. It's the best personal wine collection I've ever seen.
Who's your guy?
Maverick Carter.
Okay.
And Maverick knows wine like nobody's tomorrow. And Maverick has a collection. And he said, I've never seen a personal wine collection like that.
Damn.
That says, me saying that is one thing. Maverick saying that, Maverick knows everyone in the world. Like, it is impressive.
You trained with Jimmy in the offseason. Why do you guys get along so well?
We have a lot of mutual interests. We're a lot alike. Um, we are both the caregiver of people. And I think when you meet someone that's trying to give you the care that you give others, it just hits home. We're both great at dominoes, so that helps. We both love wine. Like, we share, we both love to travel. We share a lot of mutual interests.
Well, there's the competitive nature too. You're talking about the personal stuff, but—
The personal stuff is so much more important than the competitive. When you can get along with a person, it's way easier to get along with a person. I mean, it's way easier to adjust to someone on the basketball court than it is to get along with a person, you know? And on the basketball court, he's smart as hell. And I like to think I know a few things. And so—
Come on.
We try, I think, I feel like we both make it easy to play with each other, but we're also, it's easy to understand each other. Like we speak each other's language. Think we see some of the same things. And yet we see them differently, but yet there is that love and respect that, okay, you saw it that way, I'm gonna see it that way too, you know, because I trust you. Yeah.
Yeah. You're entering your 14th NBA season. Do you ever sit with that and what it takes to make it in this league for so long?
Um, it's special. I enter year 14. I have a few of my friends They always call me the day before training camp, and they called me yesterday, "You're 14." Like, wow. And it almost brings me to tears, like, man. I remember them calling me saying, "You're 4." Yeah. A, to still have the same friends that's calling and saying, "You're 14," I'm blessed. But then also, when I sit and I think about the journey, and what it's taken and how a couple times you fall off the cliff, falling off the cliff, but how to know how to straighten it back out and climb right back. Um, resilience and will. Like, you gotta want to do this for 14 years. Like, if you don't want this, it don't happen for 14 years, you know? And so, um, And then obviously very thankful and grateful for great health because that, you know, some people do want 14 years and their body don't give it to them. I'm honored and blessed and thankful for that, for great health.
I got to talk to Steve today and again, he called Steph Curry the solar system of everything that Golden State does. And there's so much talk about making sure to capitalize on Steph Steph's greatness while you can, get Steph a 5th ring. But wait a minute, that would be your 5th ring as well. In this narrative of Steph, Steph, Steph, one of the greatest players of all time, do you ever feel like your role in this becomes a footnote or a side note? Because that would be number 5 for you too.
I don't think there's any bigger Steph fan than me. I don't think there's any bigger supporter. I don't think there's any bigger believer. I don't think there's anyone that will gracefully take a backseat to that and enjoy it.
Mm-hmm.
So no, I never feel that.
Okay.
And in large part, probably because he would never let me feel that. You know, so everybody else can say what they say and that's fine, but I know how he feel. And as long as I know how the man feels, that's good enough for me. You know, I know the love and support and appreciation that he has for me. If I'm not appreciated by one other person, what other one really matters if he does? And so, no, I never ever feel that.
Good. With Al Horford joining this team and likely stepping into a starting center role, How does that help you take away some of those bruising minutes on your body and give you some help?
Ah, phew. Thank God for Al. You know, the 5 can be a tough position. When you're playing the 5, you are in every action. Like, even if you're not trying to be, because you have to, you are the last line. Like, you have to anchor everything. And you have to hold it down, right? Like, as the 5, if you can't hold it down, your team get run over.
Yeah.
Right? And so you have to like put yourself into everything. And so you never really get a break. Like there's other spots on the court where you can like pick and choose your spots and get a break. At the 5, you can't. And so you couple that with like battling guys who outweigh me by 60 to 80 pounds, that probably got me by 5 to 7, 8 inches. Sometimes more. It's tough. But like, I didn't sign up for the easy way. My path has never been the easy way. So I don't think anything of it when I'm in it. You know, when you're not in it, you think about it like, man, that was tough.
Yeah.
But when I'm in it, Bring them on. The bigger they are, the harder they fall. So my grandmother taught me that as a little boy. The bigger they are, the harder they fall. So line them up. Put them down. That's what we do.
Will you remind Al about who won the championship in 2022?
Absolutely not. No chance. No. Not necessary. Al's a champion. It's unfortunate for him, he, you know, he had to play the dubs. But no, it won't be no reminders for me. I'm excited to learn from him, excited to have him as a teammate, lucky to have him as a teammate. I've lost some championships too, so I wouldn't want—
You're not gonna remind me.
Someone coming in reminding me of my losses, I won't be the one to remind him of his.
