In a post‑game press‑room interview at TD Garden, Draymond Green hosts a candid conversation with Warriors veterans Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, and newcomer Gary Payton II. The dialogue covers Klay’s arduous three‑year comeback, his lingering doubts about returning to elite form, and his unwavering commitment to playing for Steve Kerr. Iguodala reflects on his trade history, contract mechanics, and the emotional weight of winning a fourth championship, while also discussing his relationship with former GM Bob Myers and the influence of his Miami Heat stint. Payton II expresses gratitude for the opportunity, emphasizes his role in the Warriors’ legacy, and shares his perspective on the team’s depth and future. Draymond interjects with observations about the significance of the championship beyond the trophy, the importance of the players’ journeys, the evolving relationship with coach Kerr, and a strategic look at the Boston Celtics’ depth and potential. The conversation blends personal anecdotes, reflections on legacy, and forward‑looking analysis of roster construction and team dynamics.
Chapters
What's up everybody? Welcome to the Draymond Green Show Championship Edition. That's my daughter, Cash. We are in the press room still here at TD Garden, couple hours after the game. 4-time champions up here as you see. Got my man Killer Klay, Dray, The vet, the OG, the guy who guided us through all of this. Honored to be here. Man, they said we could not do it again. Talk to me, Killer. How does this one feel as a— in comparison to the other 3, how does this one feel?
I can't sugarcoat it, bro. It's the sweetest one. Just, you know, from the '15-'50 season when Steph and I were on the bench, we had to watch you out there just—
Struggle.
Anchoring these young bucks and—
Struggle.
Then the next year having to watch again and to insert myself in this lineup and then just see the whole thing come together, bro. It's like the sweetest experience I've ever been a part of, man. And it makes the journey that much sweeter just knowing what we all had to go through. So I just, it's an honor to be up here for real.
This is such a special moment, not because we just won a championship, but because it took us a championship to get Klay Thompson on the podcast.
Haha, that's true.
So that is such an honor. But along this journey, and which has been 3 years now, was there ever any doubt for you, A, that you would be able to come back the player that you have come back, and B, that we would be able to do this again once you came back?
Oh yeah, I doubted, man, every day. I remember guarding LB in September and I could not stay in front of this man. Even Will Sheehy, who never played in the league, I was getting busted by him, everybody. I was just the weak link out there. And I'm just like, man, I swear I used to be a great defender. I swear I used to be a great shooter. And then Rick Celebri would tell me every day like, Klay, it's gonna be up and down, but once you, We just need Klay for the playoffs and that's all it's gonna take. And I was like, okay, Rick, whatever you say. So I had so many doubts, but once we got closer to the real thing though, and we actually didn't even get to play with each other until the first playoff game. But once I saw you two on the floor with Steph and the talent we had around us, I knew it was a wrap. Like no one can mess with us.
One more question before we get Klay outta here, because I promised him this would be 3 questions and it is a miracle. That we got him here. But for you moving forward, do we have Klay Thompson finishing his career with the Golden State Warriors? I need to know this for my own personal sake.
Man, I did tell Steve Kerr at the NBA TV little podium, I told him, you know, I'm going full Michael Jordan. I'm aligning myself with Steve. I ain't playing for anybody but Steve. So, That's the plan. And I don't, it would be weird to be in another uni, you know? So I'm just grateful to be up here and to be mentioned with the Lakers, the Celtics, and the Bulls. Now we're there. This, this, I never, sure, when you got drafted here or Andre signed on, you never would envision this, maybe one, but four. And we ain't done. That's the beautiful thing about it. We got these young bucks behind us and we got same squad coming back. It's scary for the NBA.
How does this one feel?
This one's, I'm at a loss of words because I think they let us get this one and we gonna get off. We gonna get our, you know what off.
Absolutely.
They made a mistake letting us get this one off.
Absolutely.
No, but I was saying because it's only so many, you talk about any sport, it's only so many that put a stranglehold on that entire league for this long. Like you talk about Brady, talk about the 49ers, you know, you talk about, you know, the Bulls, the Spurs had it stretched out. And you talk about the Lakers and Celtics, obviously, but you know, this is 75th year of the NBA, 75 years. When we do like the 200th year, like it's etched in stone. Like we can really get our shit off now.
Absolutely.
Like fam, bro, I'm about to talk so much cash. Like, oh, you know you done fucked up, right?
You know you done fucked up. Hey, hey, that's incredible, man. And honestly, I told y'all don't let us win a fucking championship and y'all done fucked up and let us win a championship. Hey, but check this though. We go on the run, 5 straight finals. And then Bob Myers come to you and he say, yo, Kevin leaves. And he say, yo, we gonna trade you. What was that like for you?
You know, it's funny because I saw it, you know how you and I are, like we see before like things happen. So I knew in my contract I had an extension date. So the last year of my contract, I can get cut and that salary be spread over 3 years. So something had told me, call Bob and ask him when's my cut date. I was like, Bob, when my cut date? And we built such a great relationship with Bob. Bob was like, come talk to me.
Hey, JK, come right here, man.
Yeah, yeah. So Bob was like, come talk to me. So I went to Bob's office and he was like, we might trade you. And he kept it real just because we have a great rapport. That's when I knew. So I wasn't surprised. And—
You killing our contact, young fella.
Man.
I bet.
But I knew, you know, there might be an opportunity on the back end. So, you know, I was talking about it with the NBA media earlier that things happen for a reason. And me going to Miami and experiencing the Miami Heat culture, that really helped me come back and then accept the role I had. Cause like I had really good days this year, but the body just wouldn't hold up. But I knew that I can still be impactful and I still knew that we could, like, you know how it is, you can't let a year get by and you know you let one slip away. Like, we've been here too many times, so I was just like, let me just do what I need to do, and it's just been incredible. It was been incredible.
How does it feel?
Um, first and foremost, just from, from me to you, just I appreciate you and, you know, everything you did, you know, just went for bad for me you know, through the summer and, you know, my first 10 days, second 10 days, whatever, U30, you know, having my back and giving me this opportunity and believing in me. That's just— that alone just, you know, means the world.
Mm-hmm.
That's why I went to bat for you this whole year, you know. I didn't do it for me or whatever. I did this for y'all and y'all legacy. Y'all legacy is bigger than, you know, my career or whatever, so forth. It's just— I'm proud of you and everything you've been through and how you got it out. You feel me? Absolutely. And I appreciate you.
I appreciate you, brother. And honestly, the beautiful thing about all of this is you're now a part of that legacy. And the journey, the most beautiful thing about this is the journey. Holding the trophy, I didn't hold the trophy on stage one time. Like didn't even want to get near it because it's the journey that you appreciate. It's the people that you go through it with. That's why you appreciate it. You know, that's the beauty in this. It's like you go through people, you go through this with the people that you've been in the trenches with over and over and over again. And that is the beauty in this. That's why you do this. And so for me, the thing that I've enjoyed most about—
Draymond Green.
Each championship outside of the first one was seeing the guys who's winning it for the first time. Because that reaction, that it's almost like the innocence of a child, like that does not know what it feels like. And so for me, that's what I get the most joy out of, seeing you win a championship, seeing Jordan Poole win a championship, seeing Otto, who a guy who signed a $100 million contract, when it was nearly impossible to get a $100 million contract and then go through the injuries, see him get a championship. Bely, you know, who's— Bely's 33 years old, didn't come over to the NBA until I think he was 27 or something like that. To see Bely get a chance, that's the beauty in it. And so, you know, I wanna say congratulations.
Thank you.
You've earned your keep. You belong here and you've shown that. To be the 15th man on the roster and become a vital part of that roster, it's unheard of. It doesn't happen. Before we get outta here, your pops is no longer the only one in the house with a ring. What you got to say to the OG, man?
I got it. I think I got it sooner. You feel me? Ooh. Yeah. I'm a, and I'm one for one, 100%. You can't say nothing about 100%. That's 100%. So if you want to talk to me, you, you know where I live.
OG GP the GOAT.
Hey, shout out Draymond Green. OG, I'm so happy for him. 4-time champ. Couldn't have done it without this man. He led us throughout the year. He's had so much on his back and he's did so much for us. He's done so much for us and for his organization. And I can't do nothing but thank you, brother. And congrats, 4-time champ. And you already know, you a legend.
I appreciate you, my brother.
No problem.
Thank you for coming on the show.
Yes, sir.
Thank you for having me.
We gonna have to do a full episode and just really get into your background and how you grew up. And the things that I wanna talk about, the struggles of growing up with a father in the NBA. I think the thing that people don't realize is like, as beautiful as that is and like as dope as that is, You're not home, you know, you're on the road and he's not home or I'm not home all the time. And your rock, your mom and how she held it down. And so we gonna get into all that, man. Have to bring you on the show, my brother.
Absolutely. You already know, call me.
Thank you, dog. Congrats, champ.
Congrats, champ.
Appreciate you, brother. Can't say nothing about it.
Yes, sir. What now?
The young glove.
What now?
The young glove.
Yeah, talk your shit, Draymond.
My dog. But it wouldn't surprise me If we see this team sometime in the near future when we're done, win a championship, they got it. They're not weak, they're not soft. They got the scoring, they got the defense, they got the bigs. If there's one place that they can improve, it's probably their depth. You know, if you look at this series, I feel like they just ran outta gas. Like, and that was it for us. We were like, yo, They're only really playing 7 guys. Sometimes it's only 6. Let's just keep running these guys. Let's keep a body in front of these guys. Let's try to wear them down. But the thing about it is championship teams, they got their guys and then they fill out with great minimums. And when you're a great team like that, you start to get the great minimums. Mm-hmm. And so you go into next year, your bench look totally different. You're able to rely on that bench. And so those are some of the things that I think we'll see from them. And I don't think this is our last time hearing from the Boston Celtics. That's a great group. They got a great young core and they're gonna continue to get better.
And how has your relationship with Steve Kerr developed over the years?
I think we just understand each other. We understand that we have a very similar fire. He knows how to press my buttons. He know when I need to be pulled aside and talked to. I know when I need to pull him aside and talk to him. I think the way our relationship has changed over the years or developed over the years, if you will, is there's just a huge sense of trust. There's a great understanding of each other.
Mm-hmm.
And we rely on each other. Like I really rely on him to show me things, to teach me things, to coach me up, to show me things in film, to— but more importantly, to lead this team from a coaching standpoint. And he relies on me to lead this team from a player standpoint. He relies on me to give him feedback from things that I see on the court. You know, to give him some feedback on where I think we should go next. It's just a trust that we have amongst each other that's just grown and grown and grown. And we've been together for 8 years now. We've done some incredible things together, but that trust wasn't always there. Like, trust— Trust is something that is built over time, and it's not something that once you gain it, you keep it. It's something that you're working on constantly, day in and day out. And I think with my, the more that I've matured, the better understanding and relationship that we have. And it's absolutely incredible now, but I can't say it was always that way. We were growing and relationships take time to grow. And I think when you meet someone, when you meet someone that is just like you, those usually take a little more time to grow. Mm-hmm. Than someone that's the opposite of you because opposites attract. And so when you meet someone that's the opposite, it's like boom, Steph and Steve, they're total opposites, click right away. Klay and Steph, you click right away, total opposites. When you run into someone that's so much like yourself, it's not as easy to click with that until you get the understanding like, man, I'm the same way. Like, I'm just like that. You understand it from a different place and then you view it differently. Yeah.
