If you follow NBA news at all then you probably know that Draymond Green and LeBron James are close friends. These two stars have had a long history between them that dates back to the series of NBA Finals matchups between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Perhaps, even beyond that.
Amid their infamous feud in the Finals, these two developed a real friendship outside the basketball court. In fact, you might even say that they have become BFFs.
Draymond Green Sets All Pleasantries Aside While On The Court
The one thing you can also say about Draymond is that he is an ultimate competitor. The fact that he’s won four championships with the Warriors is a clear testament to this fact. In this context, Green recently spoke out about how he treats his friendship with LeBron once they face each other on the basketball court. As it turns out, all this is set aside when the game is on the line:
“When you step on the court there is no friends,” Green said on a recent episode of Podcast P with Paul George presented by Wave Sports + Entertainment. “… As far as us being as tight as we are, that’s my big brother. Love him to death. Ain’t nothing changing that.
“… Best of friends work at Google and Apple. … It’s not an issue. It’s like, ‘Oh, that’s cool,’ but because [our relationship] is on display in front of the world, then like, ‘Oh, it’s an issue.’ But how I separate the two is, at the end of the day I’m trying to win these basketball games, and I’m trying to win these championships. If you stand in the way of that, you stand in the way of that. We’re gonna battle and I’ll take your head off. To this day I still will take ‘Bron’s head off, no problem when we’re on the court. And he’s still gonna try to take my head off, no problem when we’re on the court. But there is a respect and a love that’s there that no basketball is gonna change.”
“That’s my big brother, love him to death … Only thing changes is that our relationship continues to grow.” ✊@Money23Green on his friendship with @KingJames pic.twitter.com/XGD7B4j2at
— Podcast P with Paul George (@PodcastPShow) July 4, 2023
Draymond clearly has a lot of respect for LeBron, and the feeling is undoubtedly mutual. However, the competitive fire between these two NBA icons forces them to completely forget about their friendship when they’re on the court.
Draymond Green Chimed In On Recent MVP Race
Another person that Dray holds in very high regard is Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. This past season, the Warriors talisman chimed in on the MVP race — one that many folks had pegged between Joel Embiid, the eventual winner, and Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets. For his part, however, Draymond argued that Giannis was the more worthy challenger to Embiid:
“Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo is who I believe the MVP race has come down to,” Green said on a previous episode of his own podcast (h/t Erin Grugan of SB Nation). “[Nikola Jokić], incredible year, as of late he’s slipped and those guys have continued to ascend. As of late the Denver Nuggets have slipped and those two teams have ascended. Both players are absolutely amazing. Giannis the other day had a perfect triple-double which was great.”
In the end, it was Embiid who took home the MVP crown. Jokic came as a distant second in the voting, while Antetokounmpo finished third.
As for Draymond Green, while he does have a ton of respect for Giannis, I’m also sure that he would love to take Antetokounmpo’s head off on the court as well.
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