At this point in his career, there’s no denying that Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green still remains one of the top defenders in the NBA. This is, among other things, what makes him so valuable for the Dubs.
This is also exactly why the squad sorely misses what he brings to the table whenever he’s not around. There have been multiple occurrences of the same throughout this season with Green getting himself ejected multiple times, on top of the lengthy suspensions that kept him out of the mix for the Dubs.
Golden State Warriors News: Klay Thompson Keeps It 100% Real on Draymond Green’s Ejections
Green is a very honest person and he’s not the type to sugarcoat what he has to say. As such, this straightforwardness is also what he expected from teammate Klay Thompson when Dray asked him about his ejections and suspension.
Thompson had some pretty high praise for Green in terms of how important the latter is for Golden State. According to Klay, “it’s like a piece of us is gone” whenever they don’t have Draymond playing alongside them.
“Me and Steph [Curry] are really nice guys, probably too nice,” Thompson said (h/t Tristi Rodriguez of NBC Sports). “We could never be ourselves and have the freedom we do on the court without you. So when you’re not out there, it’s like a huge kink in our armor, and I know the other team is very happy you’re not out there. I just know that for a fact. They relax a little bit. They pump their chest up a little more because our muscles are gone, our enforcer, the heartbeat of our team is not out there. So it does hurt, but at the end of the day, we’ve been through so many battles, reached the mountaintop, been down the mountain, had to climb back up, got there again, and now we have another real shot at this and it’s been like a couple tough years. But we’re still fighting. We’re still in the mix.”
No Dubs Without Draymond
Klay had more to say about Green’s contributions to the squad — not only at present but throughout what has been a dynastic run for one of the most memorable groups in NBA history. Thompson had no issue stating the fact that the Dubs would not be the Dubs had it not been for Draymond.
“It does hurt,” Thompson continued. “It can be disappointing in the moment but it will never take away from what’s ahead of us and from what we’ve done. So at the end of the day, we just need you and that disappointment and that feeling of shaking your head just comes from we can’t do this without you. We love you and we need you so badly.
“And these young guys need you, too, because Steph and I are leaders, but we don’t talk the game like you do. We don’t inspire these young guys like you do and even when [Warriors assistant coach] Kenny [Atkinson] calls on you in film, there’s going to be a void there always if you’re not out there.
“We’re not the Warriors without Money Green, that’s just a fact. You can ask anybody in the Bay or around the world who’s followed this team, we would not be the Dubs without you.”
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— CyrusTheVirus (@CyrusTheVirusP) April 8, 2024
Talk about giving the dude his flowers, right?
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