Draymond GreenForward, Golden State Warriors

What Draymond Green Actually Meant on the Unguarded Podcast

17 Mar 2026 · 1 min

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In this excerpt from the Unguarded Podcast, Draymond Green discusses how parents often compare their children’s basketball abilities to his, noting that many of those kids lack scoring ability, which he believes is essential for progressing from youth leagues to the NBA. He reflects on his own journey, explaining that he had to adjust and hone his strengths to become the player he is today. Green also reveals lingering self‑consciousness about never having fully showcased his entire skill set, wondering whether he could have broken into the NBA’s top‑75 players if he had been able to display his complete game. He shares this introspection in a candid conversation with Travis Walton.

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Sometimes parents come up to me and they be like, "Yo, my son play just like you." Yeah. And I think to myself like, "Yo son is ass." The reason I think that is because once upon a time, I'll give you 30, no problem. Walk in the gym, put me down for 30. I'm gonna go get 30 today 'cause I want to. So if your kid can't really score the basketball, it's ultimately gonna be hard for them to make it through elementary, middle school, high school, college, and get to the NBA. Never being able to do any of that if you play basketball that whole time. Because you're never truly gonna get the notoriety because if your kid is just doing those things in like middle school, I just don't really think your kid gonna make it. I know a lot of people hit me up like, "Yo, you trippin', you ain't ass." Like, no, I know I'm great. But I had to like adjust everything and like become great at the things that I'm great at in order to become me and who you know. It's crazy, I said this to my guy, Travis Walton. I said, "I'm still a little self-conscious though, Travis." Mm-hmm. You know, like about my career. He was like, "What do you mean self-conscious? You great, you did it." And I was like, "Yeah, because a part of me still feels like I still never really got to give my whole game. And what could I have been if I was actually able to give my entire game?" Large part of me sometimes still sit and be like, "Man, could I have then got in the top 75?" 'Cause I know I was right on the verge. And so I think about all of that stuff all the time. Woo!