In this solo monologue, Draymond Green reflects on the Golden State Warriors' return to the NBA Finals after beating the Dallas Mavericks 120‑110. He expresses deep gratitude for the achievement, emphasizing appreciation for the journey over the trophy. Green highlights the shift in team dynamics, noting that this roster features many newer contributors—Kevon Looney, Andrew Wiggins, Moses Moody, Jonathan Kuminga, Jordan Poole, among others—who have been pivotal in the playoff run. He discusses the Warriors' defensive approach against Luka Dončić, referencing Jason Kidd’s comments about the difficulty of guarding the Warriors one‑on‑one and the limited success of the Mavericks' zone adjustments. Green then critiques NBA officiating, specifically the league’s reliance on fines (citing Theo Pinson’s bench‑shirt matching and Mark Cuban’s involvement) instead of technical fouls, calling the policy “baffling.” He defends the Warriors’ dynasty narrative, arguing that the franchise’s legacy was already established before this Finals run. Finally, Green previews the upcoming series against the Boston Celtics (or Miami Heat), analyzing Boston’s low‑scoring defensive style, lamenting the unfair criticism of role player Max Strus, and expressing confidence in the Warriors’ chances.
Chapters
What's up everybody? It's Draymond Green. Make sure you subscribe to the Volumes YouTube channel below so you don't miss any more of this great content going forward. Dubs beat the Mavericks last night, 120 to 110. Headed back to our 6th Finals appearance in 8 years with my, along with myself, Klay, Steph, Loon, Andre, Coach Kerr, Bob Myers, Joe Lacob. I'm naming guys that's been here through all of it, you know, and I must say this one, it feels totally different. Although it hasn't truly set in yet, it just, I feel more gratitude, more appreciation for this moment. You know, I think when going through it before, you're just kind of looking at it like, all right, we in the finals now and now it's time to do that, you know. Yeah. Now after missing the playoffs for 2 straight years and understanding that this isn't guaranteed and understanding how hard it is truly to accomplish, I feel more gratitude and more appreciation for the moment. And it doesn't make it better than the others. 'Cause like I said last night, you just, you appreciate the journey. Yeah. For each one of these things. You know, you appreciate the day-to-day, how, just how tough, you know, it is more so than getting the actual trophy and lifting the trophy up. Like, the lifting the trophy up is cool, but it's the process that you appreciate the most. And that's kind of where I'm at with this. And like I said, although it hasn't truly set in yet, Um, to do that with this group of guys, this is a totally different team. Yes, we have the guys I named, um, but it's a totally different group of guys. I mean, you look at the guys who contributed last night. Kevon Looney contributed last night in a major way. Kevon Looney contributed before, but not at this level. I mean, the way Loon is playing right now, absolutely amazing. Andrew Wiggins, new on these runs. Moses Moody, new on these runs. Namaiah Bealisa, new on these runs. You know, and you continue to go down the list. There's— You know, Otto Porter was out, new on this run. Gary Payton was out, new on this run. Jonathan Kuminga, new on this run. Juan, new on this run. And the list goes on and on and on. Jordan Poole, new on this run. And so this is a totally different team. And to get this team back there is special because it's also the first time we're truly doing this from a position of leadership. Like, was I a leader before? Yes. Was Steph a leader before? Yes. Was Klay a leader before? Yes. But we weren't the OGs. We weren't the vets. We had our vets. Andre, Shawn, David West, Zaza, Barbosa. We had David Lee, Bogut. We had our vets along the way and we were the young guys. And so to now do this again as the vets, Showing the young guys how it's done. That's what feels so special. Because we, like I said, we had our stint as the young guys and now it's our stint as the guys who's really showing everybody the way. Everybody said we were done. It was over. Time to break it up. Trade this guy, trade that guy. I absolutely love Colin. But I gotta talk about Colin Cowherd for a second. Colin Cowherd said if Steph Curry ever wanted to play in the NBA Finals again, that he had to leave, go to state. No disrespect to Colin, because that was the message from everybody in the sports world. Everyone thought that, everyone said that. And so, The appreciation is just different. We won 15 games 2 years ago. I felt that. I went through that. You know, we lost in a play-in game last year. I felt that. I went through that. And so we're playing tournament. So this one just feels a little different. How did we do it? Andrew Wiggins was absolutely incredible guarding Luka Dončić. Yeah. Everyone who switched on Luka did all we can to make it tough. Now in saying that, what did Luka average on the series? 32, 33 points, possibly more. You're never going to completely shut a guy like that down. But if you can make it tough on him, if you can take some of the things that he normally gets to away, you have to live with those results. And I think we did a very good job of that. And I guess they just miss shots that they normally make, as Jason Kidd said. You know, like, the way Jason Kidd put it, I'm not sure our defense had much to do with it. I thought one thing was interesting that Jason Kidd said when he said the biggest compliment that we could receive is that they can't guard us one-on-one. Yeah. I thought the biggest compliment that we received is with our zone, which they struggle with all series except for game 4. I thought the biggest compliment for our zone is that their one adjustment they came up with only worked for one game. That's what I thought of our whole thing. I also want to touch on something else. Yeah. Something that bothered me as someone who's been fined over $1 million in the NBA, as I told y'all, I wear my badge of honor, I've earned that. As someone who's been fined and had several dealings and run-ins, if you will, with the league office, I think it is absolutely baffling that, and I love the young fella, Theo Pinson. Theo Pinson, who by the way told me he's starting a podcast this summer, which I'm extremely excited to check it out. So when Theo starts his podcast, y'all make sure y'all go check it out. Theo Pinson is a very funny guy and I love what Theo Pinson actually brings to teams. What he's been bringing to teams in the NBA is the exact reason he's on the roster. And it's beautiful to see, like there is a role for everyone. Yeah. The same role that he played with Brooklyn, he is playing with the Dallas Mavericks, which further leads me to what I'm gonna say. As someone who's had several runs with him, it is baffling to me that Theo Pinson can try to match his shirt with us and stand up. One game caused a turnover because he's in the same color as us and standing right on the sideline. And the only thing that the NBA can do is fine Mark Cuban don't care about a fine. Like, at that point, it's a joke. And so the fact that an official can't call a tech during the game for their bench being in the way and they can only get fined is a joke because it's actually a competitive advantage. And so I thought that was baffling that at no point throughout these playoffs that they would get a technical foul for that because that's the only thing that will stop it. Like— Yeah. The fine isn't gonna stop it. Hell, Mark Cuban joined them in standing on the baseline. Like, the fine was funny at a certain point with them. And so the fact that the only thing that would have stopped them was a technical foul never happened and they were allowed to continue that competitive advantage, I think is absolutely insane. And I was very shocked by that. Yeah. With the league. And to also, you know, I think they played, we played 2 or 3 more games in this series since the last time they got fined. And so pretty much what he said is, okay, keep fining us. And they didn't get, keep getting fined. I thought that was absolutely insane. Like, insane. And again, the reason being Steph threw the ball to Theo Pinson. He had on a white shirt. We then saw an official ask him, hey, can you change your shirt? Last game, I'm sure he thought we was wearing a different color and he wore it and we was, we was in a totally different jersey. And then last night he comes out in all black and a black jacket, a black North Carolina letterman coat. Man, it's so hot in that gym. My man Theo just trying to match us in any way that he can. I thought that was insane, and that's something that I wanted to acknowledge in this series because it was just baffling to me. I've been reading a lot of stuff, hearing a lot of stuff. I'm not reading necessarily because I don't really read much basketball articles, but I've been hearing all the talk. Like, you can't help but hear like, oh, the Warriors dynasty and that trio and blah, blah, blah. Draymond Green. I'm gonna tell you, going to these NBA Finals and possibly winning a championship, I think it only helps. But the dynasty was intact before this. Like this doesn't like stamp the dynasty. Like the dynasty been stamped and it's just continuing to get better and better and continuing to take it up and up. But by no means does this stamp dynasty, by no means does this stamp Steph Curry or Klay Thompson or myself or whoever. Like, we've been doing this, and yes, it's great to be back in this position, but this— I know people be needing stuff to talk about, but this doesn't like decide or, you know, like get all of a sudden now like, oh yeah, this is a dyna— nah, stop it. Been a dynasty. And so I also wanted to acknowledge that. Now, I can sit here and I can talk to you all about our game and going to the Finals all day because I think it's incredible. But it's great and I'm happy to be there. We still got 4 more wins because the worst thing is getting to the NBA Finals and losing because you have the same shortened summer that the winner has. Yeah. So it's great. I'm happy to be there. I appreciate it. But in moving forward, we have 4 more wins to get versus Celtics or the Heat. Now let's discuss game 5. 93-80 looked like the Detroit Pistons in 2005 versus— Versus the Bulls. Cleveland Cavaliers or something. That game was way more high scoring. My point being, that was the scores back then. 93 to 80. That just shows you that Boston is just too much because they struggled. They didn't, they weren't great offensively. They only scored 93 points and they win the game by 13 points. But the Heat couldn't throw the ball in the ocean. I mean, they were living off like Gabe Vincent tough twos. Yeah. Max Strus really struggled to get it going. By the way, I feel bad for guys like Max Strus who has done an incredible job of solidifying himself as an NBA player. May not quite be a starter on a conference final teams and then get judged by that. But let's not forget this guy makes what, $2 million or something like that a year? Like, and people want to judge him in comparison with the guys who's making $30 and $40 million. Like, that guy, what he done— has done in his career is absolutely incredible. And I think some of the judgment that is being cast on him due to their roster, I think, is a bit unfair. And I just wanted to throw that out there because I see the slander about Max Struess. What he give you is bonus. He makes $2 million or something like that. What he giving you is bonus. And people need to understand and appreciate that. And so I wanted to talk about Max Strus a little bit, but like I said, I don't need to go so deep into this game. Miami Heat struggles scoring basketball, especially without Tyler Herro. Yeah. And going back to Boston for a Game 6, I just don't see it because you're gonna struggle worse on the road and they struggle bad at home. So I got Boston taking it tonight. I got JT coming out and having a great game. Boston putting it together. And there's your finals matchup. Warriors versus the Celtics. Warriors versus the Celtics.
