Draymond Green said part of the reason he’s adjusted on court behavior came after he discovered how impressionable his young kids are: “My son was shooting and flopping. I said you gotta stop watching the NBA.” pic.twitter.com/3VTHgCtgbO
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) May 19, 2019
Last night, Draymond Green played arguably the best game of his career. Even with an absurd stat line of 20 points, 13 rebounds, 12 assists, 4 steals and a block, Green’s performance was far better than his numbers showed. He played at an unmatchable pace which was constant and levels above anyone else on the court to bring the Warriors back from an 18-point deficit.
And while Green did all this, he never got sidetracked. Sure, there were complaints and conversations with the officials. But he held his tongue when he needed to and acted like a mentor to Jordan Bell after Bell missed a potential momentum-swinging one-hand dunk. Rather than sulking, Bell came right back for a two-handed dunk.
Last night, Green admitted that his family has played a huge role in his matured performances, which have seen him pick up just one technical foul since the start of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Houston Rocket (it came in the first game of the series). He said his family helped him realize he was taking his focus off the game and arguing with referees too often, saying, “I got to a point when I was doing more crying than playing. I’m sure it was disgusting to watch.”
Today, Green expanded on that, saying that his two-year-old son, Draymond Jr., was flopping on his kids’ hoop at the house and getting too fired up.
“He played on his little hoop and then like stomped around. I like the intensity, but slow down,” Green said. “My son was shooting and flopping. I told him, ‘You gotta stop watching the NBA.’”
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