Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green has never been the most reliable shooter, often posing as an offensive liability for the team. However, Green has seemingly worked on his outside stroke, knocking down 40% of his shots from beyond the arc.
The defensive forward is a career 32% shooter from beyond the arc. His lowest efficiency from deep came during his rookie season as he made 20.9% of his 3-pointers. Since then, he’s hovered between the 30% to 40% mark. He shot 39.5% last season, his highest result from a distance.
In the 2024-25 NBA season, Green is knocking down 42.9% from long range in 3.5 attempts, tying his second-highest attempts. Rachel Nichols got to chat with the Warriors star on “Open Run” on Thursday and asked the four-time champion how he worked on his shot.
“I did a lot of work to get to this space,” Green said about his improved shooting. “Working with my trainer, Travis. But then also, I did a lot of mental work. Meeting with our sports psychiatrist, telling him the things that’s bothering me when I’m getting ready to shoot or if I’m putting myself in a space to where I’m kind of hiding a bit so I don’t get the shot.”
“I took seven threes last game. I started 0-for-3. To take that fourth three was a huge mental hurdle for me because I started 0-for-3 and I shot the fourth one. The fourth one went in, but I didn’t shoot the fourth one without any hesitation.”
Draymond Green on Open Run, describing how he changed his 3-pt shot from a weakness to a strength. How much of shooting do you all think is mental vs physical? pic.twitter.com/uyn3GaNKBB
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) November 21, 2024
Green referred to the Warriors‘ Nov. 15 game against the Memphis Grizzlies where he had seven attempts from deep. The four-time All-Star addressed his mentality in shooting the next shot despite missing his first three attempts.
“Before, I’d be 0-for-3, ‘I can’t miss no more this game. I’m not going to shoot again.’ But it’s just a totally different way of thinking and it took me a lot of mental work to get there.”
As Green continues to shoot above 40% from deep, he’s averaging 9.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.7 assists.
Draymond Green advised Brandin Podziemski to stop overthinking his missed shots
While Draymond Green continues to showcase his improved shooting, it has not been the same for his teammate. Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski has struggled to shoot this season, knocking down 20.8% from deep.
Draymond Green on Brandin Podziemski's slow start to his sophomore season:
"The amount of pressure that he puts on himself with each shot is insane. And so I'm saying this also so I hope he hear it. Me and Steph talk to him every day. Like, who cares? Miss seven of them. No one… pic.twitter.com/dDNd0nr4JW
— KNBR (@KNBR) November 21, 2024
“External factors (criticism from the media) have damaged my confidence,” Draymond Green remarked. The Warriors player claimed that the criticism is causing him to second-guess his choice of shot. “Shut up, man,” the seasoned player advises, to cut down on the chatter that has caused the second-year player to hesitate.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen with Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
