Draymond Green is not worried about detractors downplaying his Golden State Warriors this season.
Draymond Green tears into Warriors naysayers over title odds
Green is well accustomed to the NBA world scrutinizing his team and diminishing them as title contenders. The Michigan State product recently spoke with Fox Sports 1’s Rachel Nichols and slammed haters who are minimizing the franchise amid their hot start to the campaign (h/t Nico Martinez of Fadeaway World):
“The same people that counted us out, saying a jump shooting team would never win, that the first one was luck, then we won the second, and it was like oh, ‘Had to go get KD to do that then you win the third one,’ then it’s because they got KD then you go and get the fourth one and then they are done. You just kinda learn that most people who talk basketball just don’t know basketball. There’s just so many naysayers all the time. The same idiots that have been saying all of this since 2015,” Green said.
Green’s Warriors are no stranger to haters
The Warriors were questioned for their first title in 2015 after beating a severely shorthanded LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers team that saw his All-Star teammates Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love get injured for the series. Kevin Durant teaming up with Green, Stephen Curry, and now former Warriors star Klay Thompson had many pundits and fans scoff at their ensuing titles in 2017 and 2018 due to them being an overwhelmingly stacked team.
The Warriors have looked like early contenders this season
Even more so than their most recent championship season in 2022, the Dubs are exceeding expectations. This might be their most impressive showing in the Curry-Green era. Both stars are aging and without Durant and Thompson. Yet, the Warriors (11-3) are the No. 1 seed in a tough Western Conference. They’re the third-highest-scoring team in the league (119.6 points per game) and one of only three teams outscoring opponents by double figures with a 10.5 PPG margin of victory. They’re also second in rebounding per game at 49.1 RPG despite being grossly undersized.
Golden State still looks like the best passing team in the Association. Their three-point shooting is still potent sans Thompson and their stars have been showing out of late. It’s too early to definitively tell if this Warriors team is for real or not. Though, judging from what they’ve shown so far, they look like a team that can make a real run in the 2025 NBA playoffs.