In this interview-style video, Draymond Green recounts his first experience at the iconic Los Angeles Drew League, where LeBron James—still in his 20th NBA season—played alongside other pros. Green describes the electric atmosphere, the leaky roof, and the overwhelming crowd, emphasizing how LeBron’s presence inspired kids of all backgrounds, especially African‑American youth, by giving them a rare chance to see and interact with a basketball legend for free. Green critiques the media’s tendency to focus on statistics and surface‑level analysis, arguing that the cultural significance of LeBron’s appearance is far more important than shooting percentages. The conversation then shifts to Lou Williams, who reflects on his controversial decision to leave the NBA bubble for Magic City, the ensuing quarantine, and the birth of his “Lemon Pepper” nickname. Williams discusses how the media tried to paint him as reckless, his struggle to control the narrative, and his eventual acceptance that the incident would become part of his legacy. He also shares his brief stint in the D‑League/G‑League, recounting a three‑game run where he averaged 39 points, the grueling travel schedule, and the pivotal moment when he was called back to Philadelphia after the Allen Iverson trade—an event he describes as a career‑defining turning point. Throughout, Green offers respect and empathy for Williams’ choices, highlighting the personal integrity required to own one’s decisions. The dialogue weaves together themes of community impact, media perception, personal accountability, and the transformative moments that shape NBA careers.
Chapters
So I had never been to the Drew League before, which is obviously I've never played, but I had never been at all. And King James himself was playing. My brother D-Bo was playing. So I'm like, you know what? I'm about to pop out. I'm gonna go check out the Drew and see what's happening. And when I tell you, It was the most incredible environment I've been in in a long time, excluding NBA Finals. What the most incredible environment. I mean, the energy in there was insane. The roof was leaking and no, it was not leaking because the roof actually had a leak. It was leaking because there were probably way too many people in there. It was hot. Air conditioning on to try to keep it cool. Then you got the heat mixing with that and you just getting like these drips down from the roof and they kept having to like wipe the floor. That's the little stuff. But let's talk about like Bron going to play in the Drew League. Like that's monumental. Like LeBron James does not have to go play in the Drew League. That's insane. That's crazy. He's in year 20, by the way, still going to play in the Drew League. I thought that was absolutely incredible. And, you know, to watch the intensity level, like, you have to understand the dynamic in things like that happening, okay? So it's LeBron James, which everyone wants their opportunity to say, I did X to LeBron James. I scored on LeBron. I got a stop. I stripped him. I blocked his shot. I, and most importantly, I beat him. The game was actually pretty close. It was really close. The opposing team was up majority of the game. And you know, people start texting me like, yo, I didn't realize, I didn't realize when I was at the game that the game was playing on the NBA app. Yeah. Which also shows you the power of LeBron James. But people start texting me like, yo, are they gonna win this game? I'm like, absolutely. Hennessy celebrates those who never stop, never settle, and their never-ending pursuit of greatness. Maurice Ashley lives his passion. An inspiring story of intellect and brilliance. His ability to push the potential of his own mind to new levels of greatness is universally inspiring. In the world of the mind, there are no limits. Hennessy. Never stop, never settle. If you wanna learn more about Maurice Ashley, visit www.hennessy.com. 21+. Please drink responsibly. Why do you think they're gonna win this game? Because LeBron James and DeMar DeRozan is on that team. And at any moment, they're going to shut these guys' water off. Like, yeah, they hitting shots right now and like, you know, they getting to the Cup and everything look good right now. But my big brother, Mateen Cleese, has a saying, "A pro is a pro and a Joe is a Joe." And he always say that. And the reality is, is like, yeah, them guys are good. They good basketball players. They're, you know, some of the guys play overseas, you know, guys were high-level college players. But a pro is a pro and a Joe is a Joe. And I knew— Yeah. Due to that, that at some point they're going to shut their water off and they're not going to be able to score. And at some point they're not going to be able to stop them from scoring. And just as I thought, I mean, it may have been 10 straight possessions where the opposing team didn't score. I think they were called BPE or something like that. It may be— it may have been 10 straight possessions that they didn't score a bucket. They had the tall kid, the tall white kid, he was playing well the whole game, would not miss a free throw. Got down the stretch, couldn't buy a bucket. And I don't just mean any bucket. He kept missing free throws down the stretch. Like the last 6 minutes of the game, once that pressure turned up, all of a sudden he couldn't make a free throw anymore. And I knew that that's what would happen, but less about— Draymond Green. The actual game itself because at the end of the day, LeBron and Draymond Green, and they had the kid Boogie, who went to USC, I think, then Memphis or whatever it was. They're gonna win. Like, they're supposed to be better than them. Like, all right, so I get that. So let's stop discussing the actual game, but the atmosphere. You got LeBron James, who's leading the Los Angeles Lakers. And he's just LeBron James, doesn't need anything else to be said. But leading the Los Angeles Lakers, going to the Drew League in Los Angeles and playing in that league, just allowing the people to touch him. Like that's a big deal. Like you think of those kids that were watching that, like it's insane, you know? And then, you know, you get on Twitter and like, Someone wants to discuss the game. Like, and I told y'all, y'all know who I'm talking about, but I'm done mentioning fools' names. But you know, you want to get on Twitter and like talk about the game and like a shooting percentage. Like, no, let's talk about what LeBron James' appearance at the Drew League did for these young African American kids that were there. That, and by the way, it's not just African American kids. There were kids of all races there. But when I speak of African American kids, because for us growing up in the neighborhood, like you think LeBron James is a surreal thing because there's no way for you to touch LeBron James. Like you just see him on a basketball court, you see him on your TV screen, on an Instagram picture, video, whatever. There's no way for you to touch LeBron James. Like there were so many kids there that could say, wow, I got that close to LeBron James. Like I was able to watch LeBron James and DeMar DeRozan play basketball. There were kids there that would never have an opportunity to attend an NBA game. And yet you got idiots talking about a shooting percentage. Like let's talk about what that did for the people that was in that gym and the magnitude of that moment. Let's talk about that. Instead of again trying to always derail the Black man. At some point it's got to stop. And so we're not going to discuss how incredible it is for a guy in his 20th season, going into his 20th season, arguably the greatest player of all time, going to play basketball at the Drew League in front of people. And by the way, for free. Now the Drew League can cost $10, it could cost $20 to get in. I'm not sure if it costs that or if it's free, but he's playing for free. He's not, he's not going to the Smiley's and saying, I need a percentage of the door because I'm playing in the league. So he's doing that for free. He's doing that because he wants to do that. But we're not going to talk about that in the magnitude that it had. We're going to try to find something about the game to try to lessen this man's impact. At some point it's got to stop. At some point you can't be willing to listen to that because it's disgusting. And it is that exact, that very thing that's ruining our world. It's just in basketball terms right here. Yeah. But it's that attitude, it's that mindset that continues to derail the world we live in. So I am here to say, as someone who attended the game and didn't find the nearest stat sheet, which by the way, that's how these people do when they're analyzing our games. They find the nearest stat sheet they can find, look at the stat sheet and say, oh, look at that. Draymond Green. Ah, such, such, such, such did this. Can't evaluate a game of basketball to save their lives, but what they can do is look at a stat sheet and get it all wrong. Get at a— look at a stat sheet and miss the entire point. At some point, you're not going to be able to build your career and continue to try to stay relevant off Draymond Green and the Black man, it's just not gonna work. So I wanna put this out there for those of you that didn't attend, that couldn't attend. It was one of the most incredible basketball games that I've ever been to. And it was less about the actual game being played. 'Cause I've been to some incredible basketball games. In fact, I've been a part of some incredible basketball games. Mm-hmm. But the magnet, like if you were in there, you just felt it. It was different. It was big. I mean, they spent after halftime, they spent 5 minutes telling people back up off the baseline. So we, or we not starting the game. And then they realized, well, where are those people backing up to? So unless you're gonna clear this whole thing out, they have nowhere to back. And they just started the game. And like I, it just the impact that it had and like— Draymond Green. You just knew when you walked in, like that environment was different. So kudos to Bron for going out there and letting the people touch you. I thought that was absolutely incredible. And I hope everybody there and those that weren't there can appreciate what happened because it was absolutely amazing. The chicken wing store.
Mm-hmm.
The bubble going on, you leave, And when you said it, I knew because when I go there, if I don't go to the strip club, I'm gonna get me some chicken wings.
Yeah.
So when you said it, I knew what it was. But how was that for you navigating that? Because I mean, motherfuckers was on your neck when that happened.
It was difficult for me because I felt like it was getting to a point where, you know, all of the shit that I accomplished, how I've carried myself over my career, like they were like, it was just trying to attach some goofy shit to my name. And so I was fighting the narrative. I was fighting the narrative 'cause they was trying to make me out to be a goofy. Like I was out here tripping and I was like, come on, man. That never been my MO. So let's not even, let's not start that. Like I'm getting to the end of my career. I'm in year 15 and y'all talking like I've been tripping this whole time. You know what I'm saying?
Yeah.
You know, I think I said it on another platform. Nobody was fucking, none of us was pandemic experts at the time.
Facts.
Like none of us.
Facts.
You know what I'm saying? Nobody.
Nobody. Not even the experts.
Yeah, nobody. And so everything that I did that day, I thought I did it responsibly. You know what I'm saying? And the shit just, it just, it took a life of its own. You know, it's actually birthed businesses, it's birthed nicknames. I get more Lemon Pepper shit than Underground and all of that. It's like Lemon Pepper is, it's here to stay.
You know what I'm saying? It is.
That shit is here to stay. And I fought it for a minute because of, like I said, the way people were trying to perceive me. Like, "Oh, I snuck out the bubble to go to Magic City." I'm like, "Come on, man." Yeah. You know what I'm saying? That's what they did. That was my only thing, just trying to navigate the narrative behind my decision. Was it a great decision? Looking back in hindsight, probably not. But at that time, I didn't think I was tripping.
Definitely, I think that takes an incredible person, incredible man to say like, yeah, it probably wasn't the best decision for me to make, but in that moment, that's what I was doing and stand on that. I respect that.
I definitely respect that. And I took my 10 days in quarantine like a man.
You ain't try to battle it? Like, all right, I'm gonna take my 10.
I ain't fight it. Hey, listen, Adam called me straight up. He says, we're gonna give you 10 days quarantine 'cause this shit don't look good. I said, yes, sir. Got off the phone.
No problem.
You got it.
I respect Adam. I like Adam. Been majority of that, or the good chunk of the beginning of the season, at least, in the D-League at the time. Wasn't the G-League.
Nah, you know what's crazy? That's the most misunderstood thing about me. I only played 3 games in the G-League, bro.
Really?
I only played 3 games in my entire career, but they put me on like that. 'Hey alumni, shit, let's sign him.' Yeah, they do.
That's interesting.
No, Billy King, our GM at the time, he felt like it was more important for me as a young kid, like I said, I was 17 by the time I was drafted, I was 18 by the time training camp started. He thought it was more important for me to understand I'm working with grown men, I need to be around this environment, I need to be there, I need to feel it, I need to feel that, that energy, and that's how we carried it. And then my second year, I got to the point, I'm like, "Yo, I gotta play." And so they figured out a way where I went and played 3, I think it was supposed to be 3 home games. At that time it was the Fort Worth Flyers.
Oh yeah.
We was down in Fort Worth, and they had a game on a Monday, a game on Wednesday, a game on Friday, all in Fort Worth. We would have to travel to Little Rock, Arkansas that Saturday, play a game, and then I would fly back.
Okay.
So I played the 3 games, averaged 39 points a game for that week. I got on a team bus, we drove 9 hours on a bus to Little Rock, Arkansas. I get to my room in Little Rock, Arkansas, within an hour I got a phone call in my room, My mom said, "We need you to go to the airport right now. We need you to go to Philly right now." And I'm like, "What the fuck is going on?" And I turn on ESPN and they traded AI. Wow.
So— That's crazy.
The week I went to the— the week I— well, it was D-League at the time, but the week I went to the G-League, my last game I was supposed to play, they called me right back to Philly 'cause they traded AI. And I got to Philly at halftime. They was playing the Washington Wizards that Saturday night. I got to the gym at halftime. And never looked back.
That's insane. By the way, that's a very monumental NBA moment. Like to be involved in that moment.
I can't forget it. I can never forget it.
That's insane.
Yeah. And the fact that it was like, everybody know how I feel about AI. He's my idol. You know, I got tattoos because of this dude. My whole thing is based around, you know, the image that he created. You know what I'm saying? Like, so I say that publicly, like, I worship the ground this dude walked on. So for me to have an opportunity to work with him and then our paths constantly crossing, you know, it was cause and effect and it was crazy. But to have him in my corner and to be a part of his history and for him to be a part of my history, part of each other's stories is, I don't know, bro.
