In this episode of the Draymond Green Show, Draymond Green and co‑host (Speaker A) dissect Joel Embiid’s public decision to stop playing back‑to‑back games for the rest of his career. They argue that Embiid’s knee problems and the desire to preserve longevity are understandable, but they criticize the move as short‑sighted. The hosts contend that avoiding back‑to‑backs may limit Embiid’s competitive edge in the playoffs, where games can come in rapid succession, and could undermine his leadership and team chemistry. They also debate the balance between chasing individual accolades—such as MVPs and high‑scoring performances (e.g., Embiid’s 70‑point game)—versus prioritizing a championship, noting that many great players (Reggie Miller, Chris Paul) are remembered despite lacking rings. Comparisons to Giannis Antetokounmpo’s drive for first‑place status and the importance of consistency are discussed. Throughout, the conversation is informal, opinionated, and emphasizes the potential long‑term impact of Embiid’s self‑imposed rule on his Hall‑of‑Fame résumé, his team’s morale, and his legacy.
Chapters
You know, all the OGs, the retired dudes, you know, they've been chiming out in the media. Our boy Joel Embiid is sitting out back to back and has made a lot of people upset, bro. He's like, no more back to backs for the rest of my career.
That was a strong statement, man. And Chuck is upset. That was huge. And KG is upset.
Chuck says, we ain't still working.
We play maybe 4 nights a week, but we not still, we not working in the steel factory.
For real.
Listen.
Man, it's tough.
Here's the thing. You know what I mean? I think what Chuck has to understand is Joel has a very bad knee and he kind of don't want to be Kenny when he done. And so, You kind of gotta take that into—
You don't want them doll legs.
You kind of gotta take that into it. Hey Kenny, I love you, man. It's all love, brother.
We love you, Kenny. We know you got them stuffed animal legs.
But you know, Joel has a very, very, very bad knee. Now in saying that, here's what I would say to Joel. I think you should play as many games as you can play. And I think you should average as many points as you can average. And I think you should chase as many individual awards as you can chase. Because since the talk of winning a championship these days—
Mm-hmm.
Are more like spoke about than ever. And so you got a guy like Joel who gets great stats, who almost starts to shy away from it because people talk so much about championship. Like Joel last year scored 60-some points or 70 points in a regular season game. And after the game, during this press conference, I was watching, or not even, it's the interview on the court. He was like, yeah, you know, the 70 is great, the 60 is great, but it don't mean nothing without the ring. And I'm just like, what? Like, no Joel.
What?
Like you just had 70 points in the regular season. Who gives a fuck about a ring, man? That ain't happening till June, brother. Like, it's cool to have these numbers that you just had and like, that's great. Like, enjoy that. And so I hear him start to talk about it more and more and more. And my thing to him is, you may never win one. Like, the hope is to win one. And I'm not saying he can't win one, but what I'm saying is you may never win one. And then you shorted yourself on the thing that we know for sure you can do, which is go get an MVP.
Yeah.
Which is, cook everybody in the league. Like we know you can do that. And so to sit out saying, I'm trying to maximize everything so I can get the championship at the end, but also getting the championship at the end, you gotta know how to win a championship. And he don't because he hasn't done it.
And on top of that, soon as you say, I'm not playing back-to-backs, that means you could feel bad on the first end and incredible on the second end. And you, because you've given yourself this rule, you ain't gonna get no better, bro. You know what I mean? Like, you not pushing yourself. I understand injuries and all that shit, but what happens in the playoffs when you feel, and your body feel like, damn dude, I feel like we just played a back-to-back. You know what I mean? Like, you know that? It's like, you in game 4, you in game 5, you like, man, shit. The games are coming faster, right? You know, it's Sunday and Tuesday, right? That's a back-to-back damn near with playoff intensity, things of that nature. So being able to say, "I quit," before giving yourself a chance, and like, I mean, who the hell is informing this? Like, what are they saying, right? Mm-hmm. And who's in his ear that has him talking like this.
Yes.
You know what I mean? Because he should be where Giannis was. I need to be the number one team in the league. If we can be number one team in the league, we can put ourselves in championship contention, right? And I always said once Giannis and Milwaukee fell to fourth or fifth and stopped playing for first,, they'll learn how to win closer games. Right? And so Joel, you already checking out saying like, y'all gonna have me for this game, but y'all gonna have to play a different style this game. You'll never find that consistency.
That's true.
You'll never find the chemistry. You know what I mean? And what could happen is you run the risk of when you sit down, people like, uh-oh, he said, you know, like you don't want your teammates happy. Yes. That you're not playing, you know what I mean? And you're the leader of the team.
I agree, I agree. Nah, yeah, I think he, it's a slippery slope, man. At the end of the day, you started this career to build a Hall of Fame resume. Part of building a Hall of Fame resume is the statistics that we know he puts up and will continue to put up whenever he plays. And I think that like, that should be a part of his focus too. Like, don't just make everything about a championship. Because then you also, what you then do is, as great— Too much pressure. Too much pressure, and as great of a career as he gonna have, you're gonna get to the end of your career and you're going to make it to where people can then say, because of what you said, "Ah yeah, he did this, but he ain't get his championship." Like, no, bro.
He ain't get a championship.
Reggie Miller is still great. Like, he didn't get a championship. Chris Paul is still playing, but say if CP don't get, he is still great. Like, still great, man.
Still great.
And so, That would just be my thing to Joel, man, like—
Yeah, like what you saying is chase your individual greatness because you're gonna get as far as your talent and far as your talent can take you.
1000%.
Basically. You know what I mean? Don't look at it as like, I'm chasing a championship because you put too much pressure on yourself and your teammates and you and you every day. So you never get to celebrate the fact that like, hey, I scored 70 points and like, I can do this any night. You know what I mean? But it's like this 70 don't mean nothing if we don't win a championship. That shit don't, it's too far out to be thinking championship. Exactly.
1000%.
You know what I mean? You can be like, we wanna be contender championship mentality, but you can't have a championship mentality not playing in basketball.
