Draymond Green on Klay Thompson: ‘If he plays great, he’ll appreciate everything he’s done here’

Draymond Green: “Steph just loves the moment. In any moment, like when we had open practice the other day, we shot half-court shots for $10,000. He always goes last, stands under the rim while everyone else shoots, throws the balls back. Then, when it’s his turn, he walks up to the half-court line, turns around, shoots it, and I told Wigs, ‘I’m about to block his shot because he’s going to make it.’ And sure enough, he made it. I was telling Wigs, ‘There’s no chance he’s missing that shot. Why do y’all keep doing half-court shots with this man for money? He’s never going to miss that shot.’ It’s just that gene he has.” -via YouTube / October 23, 2024

“I feel blessed going into year 13. I feel lucky, excited, appreciative. I feel open to just enjoying basketball again, enjoying the grind. My body feels great, my mind feels great, my drive is great. I haven’t felt this good going into a season since an Olympic year. It’s all about embracing these moments with my teammates because, for a while, I stopped enjoying it. It just got hard. But now, I’m like, ‘Let me enjoy this again. I’m playing basketball for a living, something I’ve loved since I was five.’ I’m feeling incredible.” -via YouTube / October 23, 2024

The Golden State superstar called out Perkins on “The Draymond Green Show” for saying that Leonard should hang it up due to recurring knee injuries. “The moment was Kendrick Perkins telling Kawhi Leonard he needs to retire,” Green told Davis. “I was baffled when I heard him say that because I just think as an athlete, to know that a guy who people questioned whether he’s cheated the game. “But clearly as you look at this, this is what has happened over time. The man hasn’t cheated the game, he got better from the time he came into the NBA, he improved everything: Ball handling, shooting, you name it. And he started to get hurt, won championships, hasn’t been the healthiest guy. People question whether he was really faking or not, and clearly the man wasn’t faking.” -via NBC Sports Bay Area / October 23, 2024