Steph Curry on Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Warriors stories & best NBA teams EVER | Draymond Green

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. What's up everybody? Welcome back to the Draymond Green Show. We are actually live here at Chase Center. Well, not live, but we're live here at Chase Center in the Bridge Club, as you can see with the 3 championship trophies in the back and I personally wanted this location for this shoot because of today's guest, which I am thrilled and excited as hell to have. I've been, they've told me to stop cursing. I'm excited as fuck about having Steph Curry today. [LAUGHTER] But let me introduce him the right way because I can't just come on here and act like, you know, this my mans, I don't have to do the proper introduction. There goes the laundry list. 3-time NBA champ. Well, let's rewind a little bit because this is actually gonna be a topic. 7th overall pick in the 2009 draft. Drafted right after Minnesota picked Ricky Rubio and Jonny Flynn. Note that. We'll talk about that later. 3-time NBA champ, 2-time MVP, 8-time All-Star, 4-time First Team All-NBA, 2-time second team All-NBA, 1-time third team All-NBA, 2-time NBA scoring champ, most made threes all time, 3,117 threes and counting, most threes in the season, 402. It's probably most than I've had in my career, but we'll talk about that another time. And then the last one is irrelevant. We're not gonna even talk about that one. Draymond Green. Steph, what's up my brother? Welcome to the show.

It's so weird hearing that from you.

I appreciate it. Absolutely. I mean, and starters, since we are discussing that, you're drafted by the, with the 7th pick by the Golden State Warriors. Rumor has it that you never wanted to play for the Golden State Warriors. Can you help me understand that one?

Yes. Taking me back. So like, The draft is always weird just 'cause you have a plan or you think you know where the best fit is. And especially when, you know, in the lottery kind of situation, you kind of know who you're kind of slotted against from other, your counterparts at the same position. I always wanted to go to New York. That was it. Like I was trying to find my way there. Mike D'Antoni was there, Danilo Gallinari, our future or past but future at the time teammate David Lee. Like it was supposed to be like the run and gun type Phoenix 2.0 offense and I was supposed to be the point guard there and they kind of sold me on that dream, but they had the 8th pick. So I wanted to go there. I didn't work out for Golden State. I didn't come out here before the draft. I talked to Larry Riley, the then GM in Chicago at the pre-draft combine. Draymond Green. For dinner once, talked to Don Nelson once, and that was really it. Same with Minnesota, like they had the 5 and 6 picks. So I was like, all right, if I can just get past 5 and 6, cool, I'm gonna be in New York and it's gonna be dope. And everything that I imagined the NBA to be and the fit was gonna be there. And then Larry Riley and Don Nelson had other plans. 7th pick came around, called my name. I had like mixed emotions 'cause like, this is, you know, it's a dream come true to get drafted.

Absolutely.

It don't matter where it is. But I was like, that was not on my radar. Always that careful what you wish for. And you know, God got a plan. So 13 years later, I'm still out here.

Still here. You know what's crazy about that is when I was going through the draft process, I'm, as you know, I'm a very deep thinker. So I spent my pre-draft in East Lansing. So driving to the airport when I'm headed off for a workout, Which I know y'all caught the little lottery flex in there. Don't act like, don't—

I was about to say, when I got the envelope to go to the green room type.

Don't not for one second think that wasn't a lowkey shot. That was definitely a shot, but I'll take that one on the chin. But I'm driving back and forth to the airport from East Lansing to Detroit.

All the pre-draft workouts. Yes.

And I had 20 workouts, so it wasn't like I made this drive twice. I made this drive probably, 13 times and I'm riding and I'm thinking about the whole process. And as I'm riding, I'm thinking to myself like, where are all the places I would go? And like I've told the story before, I had a promise from Indiana. I had a promise like if I was still there, Memphis would take me, Miami would take me, all these teams that told me if I was still there, they would take me. None of 'em did.

Dang.

But I'm driving and I'm thinking to myself like, where am I gonna end up? And I kid you not, I thought to myself one day like, I don't know where I'm gonna end up, but I do know, and I literally had this thought, but I do know I just won't end up in the state of California.

Okay.

And I'm not sure why I had that thought.

It wasn't even about the pick number, it was just there was—

It wasn't the pick number, it wasn't the Lakers, the Kings, the Warriors, the Clippers. It wasn't, it was just, I don't think I'm going to end up in the state of California. And for me, That was a big deal. I had never lived outside of the state of Michigan.

Mm-hmm.

You know, and so that was a big deal for me, but I just never thought I'd end up here. So to hear that you didn't want to come here, I can't say that I didn't necessarily want to come here. I didn't have that choice. I had an option of wherever I was gonna go, I needed to go.

Straight up.

But I had no idea that I would end up out here.

Yeah.

And like you said, 13 years later, 10 years later, I'm still sitting here.

For real. And like you grew up in Michigan, North Carolina, like I've, Came to LA once or twice and never been to the Bay up until my junior year of college. I played my last game here at St. Mary's against Patty Mills and the St. Mary's Gales. That was the first time I'd ever been here. We stayed at the Walnut Creek Marriott.

Right.

I used to, I like live like 8 minutes from there. It's so weird just thinking about how where somebody, some place becomes your home just outta nowhere, kinda unexpected and start to build an identity out here. So it's pretty dope.

What did you make of Ricky Rubio and Jonny Flynn getting drafted right before you? Did you think there was any chance that Minnesota would draft them before you?

No, no.

Or was there any chance that Minnesota would draft you?

That's what I was thinking more so, like, 'cause I have, done my pre-draft workouts with pretty much all the point guards at some point. Rubio, he didn't come over, so I didn't work out with him. But like Johnny Flynn, Tyreek, Tyreek Evans, Ty Lawson, Drew Holliday, Eric Bainer. I'm missing one and it's gonna kill me. Brandon Jennings.

Ah.

So like, I'd worked out with all of them and I was like, I know, you know, from a shooting perspective, obviously I got it, but I have a lot to offer and, you know, I should be at the top of that PG list. Obviously James went 3, Tyreek went 4. And at that point I'm like, okay, Washington had just traded their pick to DC, or sorry, Washington had traded their pick to Minnesota. So they had 5 and 6. I'm like, it's a good chance, like they're gonna pick me. But if I get past that, New York had already made that promise. Golden State wasn't even on the radar. But definitely when they took two point guards, you're sitting in the green room like, all right, that's weird. Like what's the plan there? And why am I still sitting here? But obviously I only had about 8 minutes to think about that. And then I was next. So it was just different. I always laughed too, 'cause there was like this kind of, This article that came out about David Kahn, who was the GM at the time. And like, obviously it's revisionist history. It was like my 4th or 5th year in the league. It was like, oh, why didn't Minnesota pick me over those two guys when they took two point guards? And the line was like, oh, he knew how much I like golf and Minnesota's too cold. So I wouldn't have been happy there as a basketball player knowing I couldn't play golf throughout the year. I said, ooh, that's a reach right there. That's a certified reach.

And next up on this episode, we should play the game that Chuck plays on TNT. Where is he now? 'Cause wherever he is now, that's where he belongs. It's not in the NBA. Wherever he is now, that's exactly where he belongs. But so the whole draft process happens. And so for all the listeners out there, what you have to understand is every guy 2 things here. Every guy in the league has a guy that destroys you every time you play him and he's not like one of those guys. And then I think everyone also has like a guy who at some point in your career or another, that guy was in front of you and you look, then you, we all look at it as like even during that moment.

Mm-hmm.

You're looking at it like this dude isn't better than me. Like I'm not sure why this guy's playing with me. The world then gets to see that as time plays out. Like, and there's one guy that was in front of you, had an incredible college career, not so much NBA career, but there was one guy that was in front of you that you did not play for in front of your rookie year. Can you talk to us about who that guy is and how that drove you to want to destroy him and ultimately probably move him out the NBA? What? That's a whole nother story.

Who you talking about?

Oh, you know exactly who I'm talking about.

Wait, who you talking about?

A.C. Law.

I was about to say, okay.

A.C. Law.

So, but he, so like there's a thing between college basketball and the league. Like we all know, like you said, it's just fit, timing, it's just opportunity, it's matchups, it's all that type of stuff. My second year in the league, like A.C. Law was, Draymond Green was the point guard in practice, I was going against him. Like he was nice and he had his like such a unique game that I could never really figure out. But I was trying to come into my own as a player and you know, he was getting all the minutes. He was closing out fourth quarters. And I always say like the league is funny just 'cause confidence is everything. Opportunity is everything. And what you do when you get that opportunity, can dictate your future. And it's also about patience.

That's a fact.

And that's sometimes hard to really go through that process. And you don't ever wanna hear it when you right in the middle of it. But I went through that my second year, like I was getting benched in the fourth quarter. A.C. Law was playing, Keith Smart was our coach. And like, honestly, I learned a lot, but it was tough pill to swallow. But it also motivated me and drove me. And then when I did get that opportunity to be like, I am that guy that can compete at the highest level in this league, can close out games, can be a dude you can trust in those moments and all that type of stuff. Yeah, AC is definitely the name that kind of embodies that moment for good or for worse. And that's part of like the process, like you said, it's not disrespecting him, it's just like that is the dude that was in front of you in terms of your opportunity. Yeah. And to his credit, he was a great vet in terms of he was helping me throughout that process. But he knew like I was kind of in my place. So it was kind of like—

It was only a matter of time.

Little bit of sweet.

Only a matter of time. And by the way, he answered that probably as nice as he could for y'all and Steph. So it's, you know, it's fine. But so you go through also, Smarty, I'm gonna let you live and I'm not gonna hit you with the David Khan line for now. For not playing Steph, I'm gonna let you live 'cause we got love for you, Smart.

Put your shoe on the bar, big fella.

Lot of love for you. So we gonna let you live and we won't hit you with that one. So you then go through that and that's your first couple years. You also dealt with quite a few ankle injuries. Walk me through that process and how, what, I mean, I remember when I first got here.

That was the narrative.

Like the narrative was the ankles, do, do, Does the Warriors offer you an extension? Do they not? I remember my first time ever meeting you was you're on the court and the entire front office staff, the entire ownership group, everybody's sitting there watching you do an individual workout as if you was about to get drafted in a couple days. I couldn't believe it. But they're literally debating on this workout whether they're gonna give you an extension. Now walk me through that process of going through the ankle injuries, having to bounce back from that, not knowing what's next, if they're gonna re-sign you, if not, just walk me through that process.

I was never plagued with injuries my entire basketball career from middle school, high school, college. Like I had a pretty clean track record on that front. So even my rookie year, I played 70 or 80 games in my rookie year and played like a lot of minutes, especially last 3 or 4 months and never had real nagging injuries, especially my ankle. So when it started to happen my second year, like, It's frustrating 'cause I mean, obviously you're in pain, you're rehab, you're in and out the lineup. And then it just kept happening. And then it just kept happening. Then it was like, oh, I don't even have to step on nobody's foot or be in a— I could just be changing direction on the court and running transition, that joint'll flip. So it was scary 'cause I didn't have any control over the situation. It was like no matter how much I prepare my body for like how I knew how to prepare my body at the time, nothing was working. But I also knew like I was getting better on the court when I had the opportunity to play. And all I wanted to do was give myself a chance to like prove myself. And you have to be available and healthy to be able to do that. So that lasted for 2 years, like off and on. I had 2 surgeries, extensive rehabs, missed like 30 games during my 3rd year, the lockout year. And to your point, like your future's kind of hanging in the balance of your health. You got surgeries on your resume. Nobody like that. You got chronic like injuries that aren't really freak accidents. It's like, I could be just doing normal basketball moves and my ankle will flip. Then you got the mental exhaustion of like just going through that process over and over and over again. So thankfully, I think I was so, just focused on getting healthy. I didn't really put too much pressure on myself on like what the implications of the injuries really could mean in the long term, which I think helped me to stay motivated in the rehab. 'Cause you know, like anytime you go through rehab, the mind, you know, or the body responds to the mind.

Absolutely.

If you can't stay positive and you can't stay motivated and you start to get in your feelings and all that, like it's a lonely, miserable feeling. And thankfully, like I was either young, naive or whatever, I just couldn't stay out of, I didn't have anything else to worry about but just get healthy and let everything kind of take care of itself. And thankfully after the second surgery, I started to get a little bit more progress. I started to learn about my body a lot more. I started to learn what it took to, you know, play at this level and the preparation that you needed to do that. And then signed the most favorable contract in possibly NBA history in terms of—

Draymond Green.

Everything that it allowed us to do, you know, those next 4 years. So it was a blessing in disguise, if you will, that I'm forever, I guess, grateful and thankful for.

Well, before we talk about the contract, 'cause that's definitely something that I would love to talk about.

Yeah, yeah.

Rumor has it, I'm not sure if, if you've ever confirmed this or if anyone ever has confirmed it, but rumor has it that we trade the Warriors. I can't say we, 'cause I was not here yet, but the Warriors trade for Andrew Bogut and they trade Monta Ellis to the Milwaukee Bucks. Andrew Bogut comes back. Rumor has it that the trade initially was for you to go to Milwaukee and Monta Ellis to still be here. Yeah. Bogut coming in. The Milwaukee doctors who probably should be fired.

We firing everybody.

Listen, I'm on this whole notion of accountability. Everybody wanna hold us accountable. I'm holding everybody accountable. You did it. Milwaukee doctor. I hope they still not the same doctor there. But Milwaukee doctors, they didn't approve your ankles, said your ankles would be no good. And so they stopped the trade and then ultimately Monta gets traded. Do you know that to be 100% true? And at that time, were you expecting to be traded or was when that news finally came out, was that news to you?

The doctor part, like I can't put a name to it, but I know that was a part of the conversation because it all happened at once for me. I know exactly where we were. We were in Sacramento. It's the lockout year, so it's right at the trade deadline. We get to the arena, and walk in the locker room. First, I was on the first bus. Monte usually comes on the second bus. We were kind of, we were outside of playoff seeding, but we were trying to make a little push. Like we were like 10th, like maybe 4 or 5, 6 games out of it. But we thought we had enough time to, you know, make a run. And we get in the locker room and it's kind of a different energy, you know, around trade deadline. It's always like that. But this was different. It was like, I'm like, it's a little quiet in here. Like, what's going on? Mark Jackson's the coach at the time. It was his first year. Get in the locker room and I'm getting taped, getting ready to play in the game. And you see across the ticker on the TV in the locker room, like breaking news, NBA trade, Warriors trade Monte Ellis, Epe Udo, and somebody else for Andrew Bogut. And that's how we found out. So we all in the locker room like, yo, what the hell? What, what's going on? So Monta shows up, he just got off the phone with his agent. His agent just called him. And this is maybe an hour and a half before the game, 2 hours before the game. So then, you know, he's kind of like emotional, but you know, kind of resolute on like, this is happening. Like, forget y'all. Like, not the team, but forget the organization in terms of like, he was the true ultimate warrior. Like he was a fan favorite, deservedly so. We Believe, the last one from the We Believe team. Had grown into a veteran presence and leader in that respect. So it was a tough, tough blow for all of Dub Nation. It wasn't really received well. So that's how it went down. Everybody kind of said their goodbyes. Amonte, F.A., they left. And then Coach Jackson pulled me out at the locker room. He was like, yo. I said, I'll let you know. They wanted you in the trade. But for whatever reason, like, and that's part of the documentary, oh, that didn't go down like that. It's like I kind of stepped into and said, I'm gonna give you the keys. I felt like I really believe in you. We just gotta get you healthy. And that's what the rest of the season gonna be about. So, you know, his line, don't make me a liar.

Don't make me a liar.

And so that was when it was like the trade happened and like, oh, by the way, that could have been you. Type vibe all at the same time. Crazy, crazy day. I'll never forget that moment 'cause it definitely set the tone for what the next chapter was about to be about.

Actually, before we go into the $44 million deal, speak on Mark Jackson a little bit. One thing I always say to people, and I would love to get your perspective, I don't think people, like, it's just not something that we, talk about. But I felt like Mark Jackson, Coach Jackson to me, but I feel like one thing that he was great at is he gave, like he breathed confidence in the guys. Like he's just spewing confidence in the guys. And I think that was huge in our growth and— Mm-hmm. Who we eventually became is the confidence that he gave guys. I know people, like I was actually watching earlier today the clip when he said, I got the best shooting backcourt in the history of basketball.

He sounded crazy at the time.

He sounded crazy.

Yeah.

I thought he was crazy and out of his mind. Everybody in the world thought he was crazy and out of his mind. But he said, I got the best shooting backcourt in basketball history. What did Coach Jackson do for you in your career and helping you understand like, no, you are one of them dudes. What was that for you? 'Cause I know for me, like he breathed confidence into me and made me felt like I belonged in this league.

Yeah, it's the balance of like, as a player, like people who say they don't hear or read anything, they lying. Like you hear everything that happens. There are people like media, analysts, coaches, other players, like it's a small fraternity and group and a family in this NBA. And then also within these organizations. So you hear everything about you. And it's just a matter of like that awareness mixed with, like you said, your confidence and who you are, your identity. And then obviously what you go and do out on the floor. To have somebody that's a decision maker, that's, you know, in that head coaching position that, goes out of his way to either defend, hype up, like breathe life into, like you say, to your players. Like that meant so much, especially as a first-time head coach. 'Cause he was going out on these limbs that, like you said, some people thought he was like out of his mind, you know, just kind of just a ride or die with no kind of thought. Like he was very strategic and intentional about everything that he said. And that meant so much to us as a young team trying to just find an edge and find an identity. And it was contagious, man. Like, you know, he would come into every pregame locker, pregame, you know, speech and give us a, like a sermon almost.

A sermon.

And it would just be like something like you wanna run through the wall or laugh or feel some type of emotion. And we go out and hoop. And he was so consistent in that front. So at that time in my career and our career as a team and journey that we were trying to come into, he was perfect for that because he was an extreme motivator, you know, an ultimate defender. He would hype you up, he'd breathe confidence in you. And that's how we went out and played. And I think to his— Draymond Green. His credit, sometimes you think about how everything ended after that third year. He almost would use different motivations that weren't even real. Like you kind of have to manifest something like almost like the Kobe mentality or like MJ back in the day. Like I might make something up in terms of there's, you know, some enemy that doesn't even exist, but I'm gonna make sure everybody's on the same page against whatever that is.

Absolutely.

That's just how he rolled. And it was great for us in terms of, you know, giving us that edge.

Has it been shocking for you that he hasn't been able to get a job? Oh, 1,000%.

I understand the drama around when he left because it was a front office coach disagreement. And he would probably admit that there were a couple interviews he did right after he left that he probably didn't need to do. He spoke his mind, he spoke his truth, but he probably, you know, I don't say regret, but you think about like, you know, doing it a different way on the back end, but When you talk about like somebody that knows the game, somebody that knows how to relate to players, somebody that is the ultimate competitor and play at the highest level, play with amazing, great, play for some great coaches and with other amazing players throughout his career. Like all that wrapped into one person and just his vantage point as an analyst and all that. Like I'm extremely surprised. I know his name floats up a lot. He definitely, he deserves another opportunity. Whoever wanna take, Our opinion.

100%. 100%.

Definitely surprised and hopefully it won't, that won't remain too long.

I think when I'm looking around NBA, I hope he gets an opportunity that he does not have to build a team the way he had to build us. But, but the reality is, is there's 10 to 15 teams a year in that same position. That he's proven right here that he can handle that job for sure. Now if you wanna say, oh well he hadn't coached superstars because when he coached us you weren't a superstar yet. Klay wasn't a superstar yet. You know, like we, none of us had grown into who we became. So if you wanna say, all right, well he hasn't proven he can coach superstars. Well what he has proven is at least that he can do that.

Yeah.

No doubt. And so that part has been a bit shocking to me, I must say. And I hope to see, you know, obviously his name just came up in the Lakers job and I hope to see him get an opportunity because I think he did an incredible job. Everyone has their differences. I don't think any head coach or general manager or ownership group is on the same page at all times. I don't. Believe that. And after being in this league for 10 years, I can almost say that's for certain. I mean, and if you have one that's always on page at the same time, I'm always on the same page, then they're an outlier, they're unicorn. Because it just doesn't happen. This is a very like—

It's a dynamic situation.

Absolutely.

Things change so fast in this league. And the fact that we can, you always gonna have to recalibrate and reassess and like you say, find some middle ground even almost because there are so many, you know, especially when you have a lot of cooks in the kitchen. Like, I mean, what the Lakers are going through and what's coming out now.

Yeah. Everything coming out there now.

Like, it's crazy. Just the evolutions of all this stuff and it's what we do and what everybody, it's not easy.

No, for sure. And I think like you said, some interviews that he maybe wanna take back now, But I also think he caught some things that came his way that were a little unfair. And here's one of them. Steph Curry ruined the game of basketball. When he said that, everybody was on edge. Like, wow, did he really come out and go at Steph like that?

He bitter, he bitter. He got fired, now he coming at him.

Absolutely. You look at the game of basketball today, I understand exactly what he was talking about.

Absolutely.

You watching elementary school play, You watch the NBA. I know exactly what he was talking about. But at that time, I think that also fueled the narrative of him being bitter, right? It fueled the narrative of, "Oh man, it wasn't all working there. And look, now he's shooting that step." And it was actually more of a compliment than anything.

Just had to let the dust settle and figure out exactly what the context. He had been in gyms with his sons. They were hoopin'. He was watching middle school games every week. And he was like, yo, what is this? They're literally watching this dude and thinking they can skip a bunch of steps and be like him. So it's hard to get that in on a broadcast, especially that was one of the worst things that next year when he got, after he got let go and Coach Kerr's in, we're on a run. They put him in like 20 of our games.

Every game. Why you set my man up for, set him up for success? For sure. Every game he was on. I mean, that's another story. Everybody's trying to say that's good TV.

No, no.

It's not. Y'all are really making him look like, Like he can't even speak the way he wanna speak. For instance, saying Steph Curry ruined the game of basketball and everybody's just piling on everything he say. The moment he criticize anything the Warriors is doing, like any analyst that's, they're gonna go at both teams. That's what you do as an analyst. You're gonna pick the game apart. And he'd say something about us and it's, I mean, it's the headline of the game. And so I think that was a rough one, but.

Yeah.

You know, and getting back to the $44 million deal, you signed the 444. And I think what most people don't understand is, is at that time that was the going rate. You signed that deal, Ty Lawson signed that deal, and give or take $2, $3, $4 million each way. DeMar DeRozan signed the same deal. Jrue Holiday signed the same deal. I think I said Ty Lawson already. Brandon Jennings signed the same, like everyone was kind of signing that same deal. Now a year later, it was the worst deal in pro sports history. One year later was the absolute worst deal in professional sports. On your behalf, on the Warriors' behalf, the best deal.

Yeah, absolutely.

But how did you go through that knowing you're making $11 million a year, you probably should be, you should be making $25 million a year. But in the same token, if you don't sign the $44 million deal, the Warriors have to decide on whether they're gonna keep me or Klay. The Warriors are never able to sign Andre. And then in hindsight, fast forward a couple more years later.

KD.

Also not able to sign KD as well. So how were you able to go through that and see the bigger picture and know, I'm gonna ultimately make my money. But right now, I mean, there was a time where I think, yeah, there was a time where I was making more money than you on, like you were the 5th or 6th highest paid player on our team.

It's all intentionality. And it sounds so fricking cheesy and cliché 'cause I'm talking about it right now. But like, this is exactly how I thought. And it's like, I talked to my wife about it right before I signed. I was flying into Phoenix the day before opening night. Which by the way was probably one of the worst games signed after signing that contract in NBA history too. We were on the road to open up in Phoenix and at the time Larry Riley, Bob was there, my agent, and they're like, we're trying to figure out coming to a deal. And like it was that one thing I had to just tell myself like, one, let's look, let's keep perspective here. Like $44 million over 4 years, more money than my pops ever made in the league. 'Cause I had been around the league for 16 years watching my dad play. Like I know how far the league has grown from when he played. And like, that's good money. Support my family. I got a lot of security. I just wanna be healthy. Like, let's just focus on that. Not what you leaving on the table, what you could have made. And then don't count anybody else's money.

Mm-hmm.

Like at the end of the day, when you sign, like that's your decision, you gonna rock with it. You hopefully have a lot more years to play this game.. And I try to set that foundation for my mindset right then and there and never like negotiate with myself afterwards. Never like second guess, never come back to that moment. Like, oh, I shoulda, coulda, woulda, 'cause that's not how life works. So I had to be really intentional about it. I hate like that's, it sounds so simple and fairy tale because it did work out. But I do give myself credit that that was the perspective that I made sure I had and didn't wanna let anything distract me from what, you know, could have been, or what I left on the table, what other situation that could have been out there. And thankfully, you know, like you said, you listed off 5 things that were kind of consequences of that. And I was still taken care of, I was still good. So that meant a lot in that moment.

Did signing a $44 million deal which like you said is a lot of money, but then ultimately you realize like, I'm not even making half what I should. Did that play any role into you ultimately leaving Nike and saying, I'm gonna go sign with Under Armour?

That is a great question. And yes, that is actually a fantastic, nobody's ever really put that two and two together. It was an opportunity to, I guess there's always that, theme in the league when somebody's coming up with a contract extension or free agency or whatever, like do you bet on yourself? Like what does that—

Absolutely.

Do you bet on yourself? What does that mean? Right? Everybody is, you have like a Nerlens Noel type situation. You know, you have somebody like DeAndre Ayton right now. You got guys that had good money on the table. How it works out, we'll see. Right? With that piece, like knowing I had, 4 years on the court and got to survey the shoe free agency situation to just see where I was at on that side of the, in that part of my career, like building something from scratch, taking a chance to put my fingerprint on a brand from the ground up and have a company that was gonna kind of invest behind me. That was a huge opportunity. And it was kind of going against the grain a little bit in terms of at that time, the stable, that Nike had and, you know, everybody can talk about, oh, they do it the best and this and that. That's, you know, matter of opinion. But the fact that I got to go and, you know, get in the signature shoe game, build a brand, be able to inspire and storytell around things that are important to me. Like we're now 8, what, 9 years removed from that.

Yeah.

And I got this fricking logo on my hat and we have hopefully something that will continue to be part of the legacy for years and years and years and years to come. That was me betting on myself. And it was a fun, it's been a fun process from day one. And I don't know if I would've made that decision had, you know, things gone differently with the contracts though.

And speaking of decisions that you've made, you, you win unanimous MVP, which hadn't been done in the history. You then take that unanimous and you spin off and you start an entire couple different sectors of business that you go into under the name unanimous. One is your production company, another is you started a fund. Talk to me about building that production company, 'cause it's actually, it's actually a phase that I'm in right now in my life. And you know, just not necessarily building a production company, but you know, the podcast, TNT deal, throwing bones sessions. And so, and moving into that direction, how has that been for you? Because the time that it takes doing all of this stuff, bro, see y'all ain't warn me about this. All the time that it takes. —in building this, but how has that gone? Y'all signed the First Look deal with Sony. How has that gone on that side for you? The things that you've learned and how that transitioned into that side of the business?

It's been a whirlwind. And you just said like, it's about making sure you prioritize like what keeps the lights on, what makes all this possible. Obviously that's basketball. And I don't know what kind of feedback you've gotten, but Hell. That has never ever changed. Like whatever you see us doing outside of court, like we know how to make sure we keep balance. And it's not saying it's easy, but you always prioritize and make sure one, you know who you're doing it with and your people in your team, 'cause that's the most important piece. Sometimes you get that right. Sometimes you get that wrong. The quicker you can realize when you get it wrong and make the necessary changes, that's important. And that's a hard thing to do in our position too, because you do, you know, gotta delegate and make sure people are positioned for success. But at the end of the day, it all comes back to you. And some people like that responsibility, some people don't, but I've found that it's been amazing to try stuff. Like it's been amazing to just experiment, you know, try your skillset at different things, get into, you know, projects that move you, Like you talked about with my media company, with Unanimous, like we found pillars within faith, family, and sports that we wanna continue to tell amazing stories through a bunch of different mediums, but making sure that it is authentic to who I am, my personality, things that are important to me, and then allow my team to push me a little bit into different areas that I didn't even know were possibilities. And so that's gonna be a long journey that we'll continue to— Yeah. To assess our goals and measure up how we're doing and keep building and scaling up. But I think it obviously, it comes down to the team. That's something that is a comparison to basketball and off the court that are so important. Who you rock with and who you do that business with and who you trust to be a part of that fold is the key to everything. And this has allowed me to, you know, create some amazing relationships, some amazing opportunities, set some amazing, you know, amazingly talented people up for success and do it with things that are, you know, authentic to me.

Speaking of authentic to you and setting people up for success, you have Holy Moly, which is very authentic to you. For those that don't know, it's a golf show.

Goofy and fun and golf.

Check, check, check. It checks all the boxes for stuff that I know. Which I've had the honor of going on once, which was great. But I think one thing that you've done that I really enjoy to keep tabs on because I feel like I would've been there had it been around when I was coming up is your Underrated Tour and how you essentially channeled who you were or, I mean, you're not, yeah, who you were because you're not underrated anymore, but who you were coming up and said, okay, just like me, there's a million other kids outside that doesn't get those looks, that doesn't get to go to the good camps. And if they go to a camp, they get a reversible jersey that says a number on it and then they go home. It's not a good thing. They don't look good. They don't, they're not treated well. It's just like, oh, we're giving you an opportunity to go play basketball. You've changed that narrative and you've put together essentially an All-American camp for Underrated Kids. Can you talk to me more about the Underrated Camp? And also like, is there anything else that's going to come with the Underrated Camp? Like, are y'all gonna continue to grow that? What's the plans with?

So like you said, it was an amazing setup 'cause that's exactly what the goal of the Underrated Tour was at jump. I started my Under Armour All-American Camp. So you inviting the top 30 high school guys to the first two. Then we got to expand to the most talented girls in high school sports. And like the 4th year I was sitting on in one of our little sessions and I was looking around, mind you, like, I don't know what these high school dudes are eating these days, but they all like 6'7", 220. I'm like, yo, first, I'm probably the smallest one in here. And two, I damn sure know I wouldn't have been invited to this camp.

Right.

I wouldn't have invited to my own camp. So I thought like, this is an amazing experience to give them a piece of my skillset and my understanding of basketball and hopefully pass something back down to them. But what about the 3-star recruit that— I was 2-star recruit for a while, like 3-star recruit that I was in high school that, like you said, looking for an opportunity, looking to get on a platform to showcase who they are and their abilities. And obviously in the pursuit of a, a college scholarship. So we started Underrated Tour. Rakuten's been a huge part of it. They propped it up year one and we've gone to 4 different regions around the country. It's free, it's an open invite to 3-star recruits who love the game of basketball and wanna come out and work hard and compete. But we're giving them the opportunity. And like you said, a first-class experience. Like it's not just, you know, let's just bring you to a gym and roll the balls out. Like—

Mm-hmm.

And trying to put them in the right gear, make them look fresh, give them more of an understanding of what it takes to be a college athlete in terms of, you know, being eligible academically, different classes and understandings for their parents to know what recruiting is like, how to go through that process. And then obviously the on-court skills and, and expertise that I can provide through the programming that we do. So we take 4 regions, we take the top, you know, talent from each region. We bring them out to the national championship stop out here in the Bay. So they get to come out here. We just had it a couple of weeks ago. We had a tournament. So each region plays against each other and then we have a champion and we have the most underrated girl and boy in the country. And we celebrate them and we help them tell their stories in terms of where they are, where they're trying to go. Mm-hmm. And how they're gonna get there. And so it's been an amazing success so far. We're in year 3, gonna continue to expand that out and continue to reach as many kids as possible. And hopefully we've created over 30 scholarships.

Wow.

Through this tour in basketball on the boys and girls side. So it's pretty, it's amazing. To your point, this is something that exists in a bunch of different youth sports. And obviously for me, basketball and golf are the first two that I wanted to touch. And so, Soon, this summer will be the first Underrated Golf Tour. Wow. And the cool part about it is like golf is such a, we'll call it an elitist kind of history in sport, but there's an understanding of opportunity that the game can provide, not just as in pursuit of playing professionally and making money, but the world of golf and the business of golf and even just the different connections and doors that golf opens. We need more representation. We need more equity, access, and opportunity to the game. And so golf is, Golf is the vehicle to reach these kids, and hopefully we have some PGA professionals, and that's the, that's the goal to get more representation on all these different, you know, professional tours. But golf will also be the vehicle to give these kids an understanding of skill development, you know, business acumen, an understanding of whatever passion that you have in this world. Like, it is possible for you to get into these, into these right industries and do it where you're prepared and equipped to become, you know, our future leader. And that's the goal. So coming soon, there's gonna be a lot more we talk about with that tour, but to be able to have that impact on these kids through basketball and golf, it's special to me 'cause they're, it's what I love.

That's amazing. Excuse my ignorance, but how in the hell do you find a 3-star golfer?

So pretty much anybody who's a minority in golf, you're already 3-star in general because there's so many different barriers to pursuing golf at the highest level. But the 3-star in golf is more the equity in terms of reaching the same amount of boys as girls that we do in each of the different tour stops that we have. The access in terms of breaking down those barriers, whether it's cost-related, whether it's transportation-related, whether it's equipment-related. Coaching, like all of those things that are a part of, you know, skill development within golf. And then the opportunity is like, again, using golf as the vehicle to introduce these kids to future, you know, success in a lot of different areas. So that's what the 3 stars are in golf. But like I said, getting representation within the game across the board, that's, that's first and foremost.

And moving back to basketball, I know everyone's gonna be watching this. How are you feeling? How is your health? I'll probably get booed in Chase Center if I don't ask this question. How is your health? Like, are you expecting to be ready for game 1? Are you not expecting to be ready for game? I also need to know this for my personal sanity as well. So how are you feeling as far as, you know, being ready to play this weekend?

The goal has always been game 1. And this is a weird injury because it's such a slow healer. Like, you know, I've had a bunch of different injuries over time, but like sometimes like every day you feel like dramatically better and you like, oh, I got a little pep in my step. I can keep, I can do this, I can do this. This one I feel like I felt like the same for 2 weeks, but I could do a little bit more and a little bit more. But it's all like just dealing with the pain that comes with, you know, the injury that I had in my foot. So, and you know, the wear and tear that comes with an injury like that. But the goal has always been game 1. The goal still remains game 1. Very optimistic that it'll be game 1. And whatever that means, like you said, I just wanna be available. And we know what time of year it is. We ain't been in the playoffs for 2 years. It is kind of weird to think about that.

Yes, it is.

And I'm so freaking juiced 'cause I know how much I love that environment. First time in this building, which will be interesting. So I don't wanna miss none of it. So that's the goal. And I would, it'd be hard pressed to, you know, for anything to kind of keep me outta that. But we'll see.

Nah, it's definitely exciting. I mean, you haven't, you weren't with the team on this last trip, but I've probably cussed out 7 people just leading up to this, man. I'm just antsy and excited. I think, I mean, obviously for me, What was it? First 7 years of my career? Yeah, first 7 years of not making the playoffs and then spending 2 years outside of the playoffs. I'm like, what the hell? Like, this is weird.

Yeah, welcome to my world for the first 3 years.

I mean, it's ridiculous.

You asked, right? Well, that's the reason first year you made the playoffs 'cause y'all, you and Klay been here. But yeah, those first 3 years, I already had the car on the back of the truck headed back to North Carolina. I had a tea time.

I had my—

'Cause 17th was vacation.

I had my car on a truck 2 years ago in 2020, ready to go everywhere. And then, I mean, the one off-season I do, all right, we missed the playoffs, which I was not happy about. Then the one off-season I do get COVID canceled. With Draymond Green on the shutdown. And then the next off-season I get the NBA season, even though we don't make it, it runs into July. Like, we ain't make the playoffs playing till June 20th.

He ain't made the playoffs, but that man been stuck at home or had a month to go do his thing to get your mind right.

Exactly.

And then turn right back around.

And I mean, for me, we finished June 20th. I had to be in Vegas July 4th.

I forgot about—

For USA.

Yeah.

Which then spanned from July 4th to August 8th. Training camp start mid-September.

You just can't get away from the game, that's all.

At least I'm in the playoffs this time. I'll take that one. I'll take that one. But speaking of playoffs, Lakers had a rough year as we all know. No surprise there. But LeBron says the other day, last week or something, whenever it was, that He has one guy in the NBA right now that a current NBA player that he wants to play with. That player happens to be you. And I know I saw the other day where you said you laughed about it and you was like, oh, I'm good. But like, take me deeper into that. Number one, I mean, you're on that level, but— Yeah. Like LeBron is up there in the GOAT conversation. So for him to—

Straight up.

Like for him to come out and say like, no, I wanna play with Steph Curry regardless of how the world may feel about that or how anyone may feel. In my opinion, that is like, that's one, number one, that's one of the ultimate signs of respect that has to feel good. But then number two, like don't get me to laugh, I'm good. Take me deeper into what you were really thinking when you first heard that.

But so what you just said is definitely, and like we talk about all the time with Bron, especially knowing our history and the Finals runs and all that and playing against him, there is no denying like his greatness in terms of what he can do on the court. And like sometimes you're in, even when you're playing against him, you're in awe. 'Cause it's like the way he can control the tempo of the game. The way he can dominate scoring, passing, you know, just his overall just presence and his IQ, like all that stuff. Like we all talk about it and you have to appreciate your competition if you wanna beat 'em. 'Cause there's gotta be that, you know, as Coach would call it, the appropriate fear.

Absolutely.

But like you said, in terms of like him picking out one player that he would want besides his son that he would want to play with and my name comes up, it is definitely, It's surreal because I will never be so far removed from the time, like I was in Detroit playing in the Sweet 16 game and this dude was maybe in his 4th or 5th year in the league and he's coming to my game, like supporting and cheering and doing all that stuff. Even at the place he was at in his career as, you know, the future superstar. And like you said, Hall of Famer, potentially greatest of all time. The fact that we're 13 years removed and he's saying that, it's still crazy. I had a, I don't know how people knew this. He gave me a jersey when I was in high school, or sorry, when I was in college at Davidson and I still have it on the wall at my parents' house back in Charlotte.

Wow.

And he wrote it like, to the king of basketball in North Carolina and signed it and all that. So like, I'll never be too far removed from like where I came from in terms of this journey. So that's dope. And that's the surreal part. The other quick part is like, Okay, if you take a fantasy draft and you're like building a team out and you got what Bron can do and the way that I can shoot the ball, like obviously there's like a curiosity, like what would that look like? But also there's a realism of like, that's why I said I'm good right now. It's just, you can never let your mind go from what you know is your situation. What is your moment, your time, and who I've been rocking with from day one. So. Yeah. So that's my best answer at it. 'Cause it's fantasy, it's wild, but there's a respect and appreciation. There's a surrealness 'cause of where I came from and how we first interacted back when I was in college. But if this was 2K, that'd be pretty lethal.

I appreciate that answer though, because the reality is one thing that pisses me off in this entire realm of NBA players, which is, let's face it, dominated by African Americans, is how they try to pit us against each other. You know, it's like everything him against him, compare, like how is he compared to this guy?

No, they just did that to, I was walking up here and somebody, I was on TV on one of the, Talking head shows and it was just like, who has more pressure, Kyrie or KD?

I said, what? What? Now they walk in the locker room.

That's 15 minutes on TV. Like we talk about that.

Exactly.

Before the playing game even started.

I think it's ridiculous how they try to like, and so when LeBron comes out and say like, I wanna play with Steph Curry. And the reality is all the talking heads and all of these people, They wanna try to find a way to make that controversial.

Right.

And that's not a controversial statement at all. That is saying I admire someone with my knowledge of the game, 'cause LeBron has some of the highest knowledge when it comes to basketball. With my knowledge of the game and me understand what wins in this league, I wanna play with him because If I can take my skillset and partner my skillset with this guy's skillset, I think it'll be unstoppable. But it goes way further than that when it comes to us. You know, it doesn't go way further than that when you're dealing in all other realms of business. But when it comes to us, it goes way further than, you know, actually from a basketball standpoint, That makes all the sense in the world.

He would almost be dumb not to say that.

Like, are you outta your mind?

If you gave him a clear, a clean slate and was like, right, number one pick in the NBA draft, fantasy, whatever. Like you said, what you bring to the table, who would compliment that?

Hello? Like makes all the sense in the world.

That's a great point though.

So I mean, and I've kind of been going on this thing lately. Of like just the disrespect amongst us and how, like I actually spoke about it. I actually, I need to get your thoughts on this too.

Before you ask, people always compare eras too, right? And they always say we're more buddy-buddy than eras of past. 'Cause there ain't no fights on the court. Like we all work out with each other. You got business crossover, friendships, like all that stuff off the court. And they always talk about like, that's ruining the game. No pun intended, sorry, Mark. That's ruining the competition on the court in terms of like, we all have, you know, these backgrounds outside of that 94 feet. Do you ascribe to that? Like this, like our era is less competitive because we're more friendly.

I think we're just way smarter than the eras before us. If you look at that from a, the way the game is like, if you look at the past era of basketball, they was beating each other.

Right.

Like, don't get me wrong, guys were skilled and all due respect to the guys that came before, but they were out there literally like outside of fighting, like playing the game of basketball, they were beating each other. There wasn't like much skill to that. There were guys that were skilled, but if you look around the NBA now, there's no one in the NBA that can't hit a 3-point shot. Now whether they shoot a bunch of 'em or not. Right, right, right. But there's no one in the NBA today that can't hit a 3-point shot. When you look at the level of the skill that we have today, it's totally different from the league when it was, or from what the league used to be. But my question to you, I made a statement about 3 weeks ago that if LeBron's breaking the scoring record, You playing 81 games next year. I'm not going to the game. I'm going to see LeBron break the scoring record. Now I wanna ask you as a teammate, and I have not asked Steph this at all. We again—

Why I left.

We have not discussed it at all. So y'all can get the same answer I get. I actually didn't think anything of it. I didn't think anything of it. Until we're in Memphis last week on the day of that game and Bob calls me earlier in the day and we're just talking and he's like, hey, so help me understand when you say something like that or when you say that in particular, like do you just not care what people think? Do you not care what your teammates think? Do you like, and he like laid out all these other things that it possibly could be.

Right.

And I said, Bob, I'm sorry, but if people in the world are dumb enough to believe that I'm gonna miss my job to go watch someone else do theirs and feed their family, and this is how I feed my family, which means if I miss my job to go watch him feed his family, I could possibly lose how I feed mine. If someone's that dumb, Bob, to think "Wow, he's actually gonna miss his game." If someone's that dumb, that's not my fault. Like, that's not my problem. I wanna know what you think when you see me make that statement.

So one, I knew if that situation happened next year, there's no way in hell you would walk to me, Klay, Draymond Green, Coach Kerr, and be like, "Yo, I'm doing this." So that's why I didn't hit you about it. I knew it was a way of expressing how amazing that accomplishment and feat was and your respect for Bron. Two, I understand one piece of what Bob is saying in terms of if it's somebody within your family that might be, and your family is all different context in the family of our team.

Absolutely.

If somebody is gonna be, gonna have to directly answer to that for whatever reason, like there's a certain level of respect of, hey, you know what I meant by that or whatever. Like, no, we can, that could be a quick conversation. Cool. But it's also an unfortunate piece of, lumping it into every other soundbite that comes out of your mouth. Like, which be the polarizing. We all know who you are. And like that piece, I know that'll never change 'cause that's who you are. But it's also like, if there was ever, it highlights if there's ever any little insecurity or question of where your loyalty lies, which, okay, if you're going to that point, then you got a whole nother conversation to have. Absolutely. And if like, cool, we gonna have that conversation. But that's the one thing I get is like, if it's somebody within your family that you know, whatever you say, even if you still mean what you say and you're not gonna step off of it and you kind of, I don't regret how it came out. If they're gonna have to answer to it, yeah, you have to take another step to, you know, say your part. But I didn't hit you 'cause I knew there was no way in hell game 67 next year, LeBron is 27 points away. It might be 2 games 'cause he might shit the bed one game.

I'll be out.

He pull a Dennis Rodman right quick. I'm gonna see y'all. I'm gonna see y'all when I see y'all.

That's good to know, man. Couple more questions before I let you go. A couple more basketball questions. And then I also want to ask you a couple family questions. Well, that's important to me as a father, as a husband, one of the guys that I've looked at since I came into this league and how you handle yourself. So we'll get to that, but a couple more basketball questions. So coming into this season, you know, we come in and it's kind of like this mix of old guys, if you will, and young guys.

Yeah.

And I made a comment earlier in the year and I said, we've never seen this work where you're trying to mix the past or not the past because we're still—

Yeah.

All in our prime, but past success of the group that you've had success with and future of who you think you can have success with and trying to combine those two. Historically, we had never seen that work. And I said that in the press conference. Now what takes the cake is me saying historically we've never seen that work. What no one does acknowledge is the part of me saying, that's the challenge for us as leaders of this team. That's the challenge for us. That's the challenge that you embrace and you want to be the group that can make that work. No one talks about that part. They only talk about the first part. But, and now we've played 82 games.

Mm-hmm.

And you've seen how it all come together. What are your thoughts on this current team and what needs to happen for this team? Obviously we know health, you know, we gotta stay healthy. I've been out, Klay missed the first half of the season. I missed essentially half of the season right in the middle. And then you've missed the last few weeks. So obviously health, but what has to happen as far as like our young guys coming along? Who do you think is gonna be that X factor? What has to happen for us to ultimately do what we set out to do? And that's win the championship. Yeah.

I mean, this year has been, it's been interesting 'cause we laughed about it a little bit. Like nobody expected us to start off the season the way we do because of the questions coming into the year about the two different timelines, not knowing what, you know, Otto and Belly as vet minimum guys and Andre is, you know, where he was in his career, like what, how they would mesh with us and all that. You know, essentially the team that started off hot and the way we started off the season was off the way we ended last year, you know, mixed with a little bit more veteran presence and two young guys that have so much potential but don't have a defined role or consistent opportunity. So we've gone through all of that. And like you said, injuries and Klay coming back and, you know, JP's ascension and all that. So What needs to happen is health, like you said, but we keep doing what we're doing in terms of understanding how we play. And then defensively, obviously that is gonna take the cake. And it's amazing to have you back, you know, feeling good and healthy to help lead that charge. But we know how the playoffs, the rotation gets tight.

Absolutely.

But you, with that tight rotation, you have those 3 to 4 guys and it's gonna be J.K., Mood, D Lee, Juan, even GP a little bit. Those guys, depending on matchups, depending on how a series go, you have to be prepared and ready and locked into what you're gonna be asked to do. And that could be 5 minutes, that could be a 30-minute run. That can mean starting one game, come off the bench one game. Like the flexibility in that, because we have so many pieces to go to. Like some teams, they have 8 guys and they gonna play 8 guys the whole, the whole, run and that's it. We're not that team. So if we, we play like, you know, our rotation, we play at the highest level, do what we need to do. And we have, you know, our guys ready to step into those roles, you know, on a moment's notice. That's gonna give us our best chance. Cause we know it's gonna be tough. We know how hard it is to win a championship, how many things have to go your way, but we can take on that challenge of what you said, starting the season, like doing something that hasn't been done historically. And then— Facts. We'll deal with what comes next, you know, when it comes, 'cause that's the nature of the NBA. But I like the fact that we have the ability to throw a bunch of different guys out there and trust that, you know, they can provide and provide value and do what they need to do out there. And no brighter stage of the playoffs to show that, 'cause it's just a different energy. And when you look back, like— Mm-hmm. Certain guys that have helped us win a series or a championship, some of the names will be, you know, will hop off the page in terms of some unexpected guys that came into a role and did what they needed to do.

100%. And speaking of a championship, if you could trade the 2017 and '18 championship to complete the '73 win championship. Would you trade those two championships to complete the '73? Mm.

So I'm gonna get the resume right. So I have, we'd have two chips and a damn near perfect season.

Mm-hmm. Or three chips and a bronze medal. Or three chips and an Olympic medal.

You see, I didn't even wanna say it.

You see, I blanked out as soon as I had to even acknowledge it. 16.

Oh man, I don't even know how to answer that question. I would say no, but I think for the rest of our life, I'll still be able to just laugh at 16, which is fine. It's fine. It's always gonna be that just, awkward like acknowledgement of an amazing regular season and the finals run. But yeah, I say no, but—

Get you a Steph Curry in your life.

I'm glad I don't take myself too seriously.

Get you a Steph Curry in your life.

Dang, that was hard.

You don't have you a Steph Curry in your life, get you a Steph Curry because if he say yes, This interview is over. My heart was broken. Get you a Steph Curry. Is he mean? Yes. Get you a Steph. No, I think honestly, that essentially puts you in a place of undoubtedly the best team ever. If we were to complete it. Now—

Cool to be in the conversation.

To be quite frank with you, I still think we had best team ever. Although we didn't finish it and win a championship, I still think that was the best team ever. Until 2017.

I was about to say, where we going with that? 'Cause that team was nice.

Until 2017. And then I think that team took over as the greatest team ever. So I think we still accomplished it, best team ever, but not quite, you know, people take numbers and they wanna put the numbers there and say, oh, well the Bulls had 72 wins.

It's a feeling, bro.

Exactly. We were the best team ever. I don't care what no one said. I can't see anyone beating that 2017 team. Not even our first, the '15, '16. I can't see anyone beating that 2017 team.

They say in the medical field, I concur.

Hands down.

That's it.

The best team ever. But before we get outta here, I've always asked you questions just about marriage, about kids, how you parent, how you are in your marriage because you've always been a great example for me to watch. And I'm appreciative of that. Like I think, you know, people don't realize you, we spend, I spend more time with you than you spend with your wife. Like you spend more time with me than I spend with my wife and my kids. Like that's just the nature. Yeah. In what we do. Like we spend a ton of time together for half the year we're on the road, we're all together. And then even when we're not on the road, we've been here since 9:00 AM. It's—

4:45.

About to be 5:00 PM. Like you still spend a ton of time together, but I've been able to watch you for 10 years now and your growth. In parenting your growth as a husband and just how you continue to grow. And I have such a strong appreciation for that. Now in saying that, the rest of America has also been able to watch your marriage and your growth. And you and Ayesha are almost like, y'all are the golden standard and like the couple goals and like that everyone really look at and say, man, like we want that. Yeah. Do y'all feel that pressure in your marriage or are y'all just so grounded in your marriage that like what anyone says from the outside really don't matter? Or do you feel that pressure in y'all marriage to kind of uphold what the world see y'all as? Like the world see y'all as the ideal couple that made it work since a young age and is still making it work that like on your trajectory to greatness, here comes her trajectory to greatness. And like, she's doing great things. And like, Sweet July was the COVID was the face of CoverGirl. Like all the things that she's doing, she has her Ayesha cookware in stores. And just to see both of y'all ascend has been incredible. Do y'all feel that pressure from the outside world to be that goal that they all wanna be?

I think it's both for sure. I say that because we never like acknowledge any type of title like that, or like pressure or put any merit on like that as a goal, right? But we also understand the influence inspiration that it can provide. And that's what people need. You can't sell yourself for that. Like in terms of how you live your day-to-day life and there's gotta be a balance to it. But the best part about it, and I can honestly say that, is because it's built on such a solid foundation that we are just living our lives and doing it together and sharing every up and every down, you know, the growth that has come individually and stuff that we never in a million years could imagine like that we'd be doing. And together and in our individual careers on top of raising 3 amazing kids, like the foundation was so strong because none of this was around. And I'm truly appreciative of that, that I do have somebody that I can share all of this with and who knows how I'm thinking before I'm even thinking it. I can understand some of the pressures that she's going through as a quote unquote basketball wife, which we know, it's not just a thing, it's something that is thrown at them unnecessarily every single day of either comparisons or standards that they have to uphold every day, or just the constant noise around like what's happening in our world is always having to impact them or they have to answer to it or whatever the case is. You even think about like stuff that's going on this year in like terms of fan interaction. Like it's hard for them to come to games sometimes. Keeping it real, like we go to playoff games on the road and there's always, you know, people yelling at them 'cause they think that's gonna affect us and all this other stuff. And like, I have such an appreciation for her growing into that role too, because it's loud at times and it's, there's a lot of, you know, opportunity for distraction and stress and whatnot. But our foundation is key. The fact that we can share that with the world the proper ways try to be as authentic and real about the things that we're experiencing and hopefully, you know, give a good light on what marriage is. 'Cause there's so much fear around what that is. And obviously you want to honor, you know, that establishment as much as possible and the commitment that we made. So it's a little bit of everything, but the fact that I get to be her big supporter and biggest supporter and see what she's been able to create on her own and, and know what work she's put into it and the stuff behind the scenes that nobody gets to see, like that stuff is so dope to me and so rewarding. 'Cause you know, she deserves everything she's got. And I'm proud of her for that.

Ayesha's a little more like me in a sense that she was, blah, and then it just comes out. And before you know it, it's out there. Like it just blew out. One thing I admire is, and I guess it's just who you are because as a brother in my life, you've been the same way. Like I said, she's like me in the sense that it'll just come out. And as a brother in my life, no matter where I've went wrong, no matter if I've said some wrong things before, you've always supported me. And one thing I admire about you and y'all relationship, but you in particular is even at times where she may have said the wrong thing, your support for her in saying that and standing in front of it was like, nah, you stood in front of her as if she was right. Like, and it don't matter. And I admire that. But that's for you is— Thank you. That can get a little dicey too because you have a brand and you have all the things that you've built, but you've stood in front of her no matter what that situation, like what the situation has been. Is that just like, that's just what it is, that's the way it's gonna be? Do you like, is there a conversation to be had? Like what, how does that, how do you go about that? I think that's powerful.

'Cause a lot of it is the, The fact that, like you just said, like, I know you gonna mess up at times. And I've obviously, I've done the exact same thing and I can defend myself. But when it comes to like the unnecessary, just focus and heat on somebody that is like, take a second and walk in her shoes for, you know, I'm not saying, and she, we're all blessed. And then we all, you know, have, amazing things going on in our life. But like my sister always says, like, everybody's mountain is their mountain. And there are certain things that you will never know she's going through in terms of, you know, all the different hats she has to wear and, you know, the responsibilities and the expectations of a woman in all of those arenas and what they go through on a daily basis. Like, I have an appreciation for all of that. So I know she would hold me down in those situations in the same way it goes, you know, the other way. And that is my job as her husband. Mm-hmm. And so I take that seriously. And the biggest piece is like, it's such a long journey, man. Like there's going to be so much stuff that, you know, that happens. And if you, like I said, if you have a strong foundation of how you're going to get through that stuff, like at the end of the day, like there's so much confidence in that. Cause I know, I know who she is. I know what she's about and never second-guess that. So. Yeah. It makes it a little bit easier in times where there is conflict and there is, you know, you ever wanna call it drama, unnecessary drama, 'cause that's what it is.

Nah, for sure. I think I have an appreciation for that because for the longest time I would see you operate that way and I didn't understand it. In part due to, 'cause I didn't have that for myself. Like I didn't, you know, Once being in a relationship with Hazel, I learned so much about being in a relationship and like, and support for a woman and the hats that they actually wear. Before that, I can't say I understood that. Like I didn't understand all the hats. I didn't understand the things that, you know, she's doing for our kids and like holding our house together and like all the different hats that a woman wear. I can't say that I understood that. Mm-hmm. If you want me to be 100% honest with you, I thought like, man, they like so easy. Like, I gotta go out here and play every day. Trust me. Your life is very simple until you really connect with someone and like you sharing that pain, you feel that hurt, you see the struggles. It gave me a totally different appreciation for it. I don't know if you remember this, but I asked you a question on the plane before and I said, if there's one luxury in the world And this is long before my understanding, this is probably 6, 7 years ago I asked you this. I said, if there's one luxury in the world that you can have and you can have it for the rest of your life or that you could just have one luxury, what would that luxury be? And I asked you, I asked Klay, maybe D. Lee. I know mine was a private plane. I'm like, I like private plane. That's one, that's the ultimate luxury to me. And I'll never forget your answer. I was so disappointed. Yeah. And your answer, I look back on that answer now and I 100% understand because what your answer was, it has a bearing on your life. It has a bearing on you being, you know, one of the things that you told me is like me and Ayesha date and like we have a relationship totally separate of the kids that we really involve, like that we really commit to because we know if we're committed to that relationship, the kids, they'll be fine and they'll automatically benefit from that. And I understand that now. But when I asked you that question, it was so disappointing. You said a nanny. I'm like, outta all the luxuries in the world.

You caught me on a stressed out day.

Outta all the luxuries in the world. You can have a nanny? I didn't understand it. I do understand it now though.

Yeah.

But I didn't understand it then. And that was like, I mean, I thought she was on your mind.

And that's me saying that. So imagine like the reflect, you talk about the stuff that they, that my wife does to be a presence and a caregiver and taker of our kids and just the amount of work that they might not even feel like it's work. But I feel like you leave me at home with the kids for 4 hours. Woo!

God.

Something's gonna break. I might lose one of 'em at the house. They might be hungry. I don't know what, like, it's just a whole lot of stuff, but like, that definitely is a reflection of just an appreciation for what it takes to be, you know, an amazing wife and a mother and an entrepreneur and all that type of stuff. And the other piece to like the appreciation is, I know how hard, you know, we work to do what we do and what it takes to be successful. It's something you pour everything you have into it. Yeah. I feel like there's a kind of common theme of like women in general, you know, have to work twice as hard for the same opportunity.

Absolutely.

And that's like just common. And, you know, we can talk about pay equity and all like all that stuff, but we can also, like even think about a lot of the accomplishments my wife's have been marginalized because of my success.

100%.

So think about it. I gotta work twice as hard to get, you know, acknowledgement or success in my business, whatever that is. And then I'll get half the praise for it because it's because you have money. It's 'cause you can afford multiple nannies. It's 'cause, you know, your husband is the superstar in the NBA that it's easy. You got all the opportunity in the world. Like I never appreciated that vibe. 'Cause I don't get off on praise like that, but you also have an appreciation, like what you put in is not gonna necessarily come back, you know, with the same energy. And once that clicked, like all the other stuff made much, so much more sense in terms of the day to day on just finding peace and happiness at the end of the day. And so Hazel, Ayesha, every other wife in the world, I got so much respect for what you do. And we wouldn't be who we are without them.

I agree 100%.

You trying to get some brownie points on the Draymond Green show today. I got a date in 2 hours and it better be good, Esh. I'm playing this. Can I get the advanced copy? Can I get the raw?

We're sending this right away. But speaking, I mean, 2 more questions. I didn't know you had a date, but we getting outta here anyway. But last one about Ayesha and then just one for you. As guys, especially in our position, like Hazel's an actress, she's constantly doing auditions. I'm constantly reading. I know you remember this 'cause Ayesha used to be in the same field. I'm reading these like, these scripts, I'm reading the script slides, they call 'em. I'm reading the slides and trying to record her 'cause as you, COVID sent everything home. So I'm the cameraman. I'm the reader, I'm all of these things. I'm the light, man. Doing all of these things. And I have a huge appreciation for her and her grind and like what she puts into it. But that's not always the case. And especially in our profession, a lot of guys have egos. A lot of guys are super duper insecure in what we do. And Ayesha's— Mm-hmm. Leveled up on a totally different level over the last 2, 3 years or so in everything that she's doing. How was that for you accepting that growth? Because it changes the dynamic. Like it changes, you could come home from a 10-day road trip and she gone for 10 days. And then now she come back from her 10-day trip and all her business that she's handling. Mm-hmm. And then you're leaving for 4 days. How has that been for you in adjusting to what she's been able to do? All the things that she has her hands in and the businesses that she's started and are running. And like, you know, like CoverGirl isn't a business that she started, but then being the face of that, that comes with requirement. How is that for you and to accept that this is who she's becoming. And I support that 100% 'cause it totally changes the dynamic that you were used to for years.

You gotta, that's where we came. I mean, it's not a genius term, but we literally have to thrive in chaos a little bit. 'Cause it is, you got all these plans for what the year gonna look like and how we're gonna balance it out. Okay, we're gonna match up road trips and work, crazy work schedules. And so that, you know, when I have a homestand, we're all at home and we have some normalcy and family dinners and all that. And then you get like 3, 4 weeks into the season, you're like, uh, we ain't getting this right. But to your point, like it's a celebration of what she's doing. It's understanding that we're trying to do everything at the same time. Like we're trying to raise a family. I'm in the height of my career. She's, you know, a serial entrepreneur. Yeah. Entrepreneur and has a lot of, you know, success at scaling these businesses up and what it requires to do that, you kind of have to continue to reprioritize. Like, again, like you said, like dating each other and having as much quality time as you can, you know, the kids are definitely, you know, a priority and work, like all those things kind of shuffle at the same time. And it's difficult. I won't sit here and try to sugarcoat it and say like, we got everything perfect, But at the end of the day, the one thing I'll make a joke, the one thing that has done is like, I kind of am looking forward to like, what does retirement look like?

What is that?

What does that actually look like? We get 9 months of my year back and you know, you going on a work trip? Cool. I'll be here. I'm gonna hang out with the kids. I mean, it might look different when you get back, but don't worry, I'll hold it down. But we have an amazing village around us that helps. And you know, that is extremely crucial to supporting us and what we do. But there is an understanding that, you know, these could be the busiest and most chaotic times of our lives, but the most rewarding in terms of, you know, life experiences and even what we get to share with our kids along the way. So at the end of the day, we always tired though.

Your last answer honestly leads me to my last question, which was what does retirement and life after basketball look like for Steph Curry? And it's a two-part question. Does, will we get the opportunity to see Steph on the PGA Tour or at least pursue?

I like the word pursue.

Pursue because, and like, we're professional basketball players. We know it. And so no disrespect to all the PGA golfers out there.

Say that loud.

Like, I know what it takes to be what you all have become and what you're doing. I don't know what it takes to be a golfer, but to be a professional. And so no disrespect, but I know your love for golf. I know your relationship with the tour, with the guys on the tour. Will we one day have the opportunity to see Steph Curry pursue playing on the tour?

There are a couple templates that certain other, you know, professional athletes from other sports have taken and to dabble into professional golf, like John Smoltz, Tony Romo, Marty Fish, who was, you know, amazing tennis player. All of those guys have found ways to, find competitive golf, test their skills, get ingrained to some of the kind of temple events throughout the calendar year that kind of scratch that itch, if you will. So I'm gonna learn from that when it's all said and done. I don't know if, that's the scary part is like, if you told me that I know what it takes to be a basketball player at this level and the grind, Right? I'm not afraid of that grind, but I'm also afraid of that grind. 'Cause with the grind starts and I commit to it, I'm not gonna stop.

Absolutely.

So I have to, I gotta find some clarity on that question 'cause it would be interesting to see how far I could go. But I'm also afraid of what it, what that means. 'Cause my work ethic is something I hang my hat on and you can take that and apply it to something else. One, I just hyped up my relationship with my wife and success and peace and happiness and I might ruin it. I might ruin all of that by saying, hey babe, I'm, you know, whatever, 17, 18 years in the league. I'm gonna go try golf now. Let's just watch rinse repeat this whole last 18 years. I don't know what that's gonna look like, but those guys have figured out a way to have some fun, keep it competitive, but not go all the way into the deep end. We'll see.

My brother, I appreciate it. I mean, I think, Like people always ask me, obviously, you know, I can't golf, but people always ask me, am I gonna coach or am I gonna be a GM when I'm done playing? And I tell everybody, no, hell no. Like the last thing I want to be on when I'm done playing is a basketball schedule. Like I've been on a basketball schedule my entire life. The last thing I wanna do is retire And then be back on a basketball schedule. So I totally understand, my brother. I totally understand. And from myself, producer Jackson, Jackson has been fucking blowing my phone up all week about this episode and like how he think it work. We had two calls about this episode and making and trying to make it as perfect as possible. And honestly— Yeah. It's really a, you know, just a nod to you and everything that you've done, who you are, these trophies, your MVP trophies that sit right next to those trophies that's just in your own personal trophy case, who you are as a person, a steward of the game of basketball. And— Thank you. An example for Black men and how like, no, we can be successful in marriage and like, yeah, there is a divorce rate and like we can be successful as the head of a family because that is skewed and like we don't get to see that all the time. And so I think, you know, when speaking of couple goals, it's incredible to see 2 African Americans do what y'all are doing. And so—

I appreciate that, man.

I appreciate it. And I wanna say thank you for everything that you've done and been to me in my life, for the success that we've had. You know, there's always this notion of like, Draymond can't do it without Steph, or he can't do it without Klay. And I'll be 100% honest, I can't. On the flip side, Klay and Steph, Klay can't do it without Steph and Draymond, and Steph can't do it without Klay and Draymond. And I think for me, what we've built, it's not that I can't go on and do something else. It's not that you wouldn't be successful in playing with someone else. It's not that Klay couldn't go to the Lakers tomorrow and beat Klay Thompson. It's not that. It's just not as beautiful as what we've been able to do together. And so fuck everybody. I was about to say, I don't know how you gonna end that 'cause that just— Fuck everybody who say I can't or he can't or Klay can't. You right, you win. We can't. We can't do it without each other, but we're damn good doing it together. That's it from this episode of the Draymond Green Show. Thank you, my brother. It's a wrap. We out.