Draymond Green Sends Strong Message to Critics After Warriors' Play-In Win

Draymond Green and the Golden State Warriors will move on, playing their next game on Friday in the Sofi NBA Play-In Tournament against the Phoenix Suns, thanks to a must-win win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

It featured Stephen Curry showing why he’s still one of the all-time greats in the league, as he scored 35 points, helping his team defeat Kawhi Leonard and company, 126-121. Green contributed seven points, six rebounds, nine assists, and four steals in an all-out effort to keep Golden State's hopes of a playoff spot alive.

And following the game, he had some words about his critics, indicating it’s something he’s been dealing with since he first entered the league. That was 2012, when he was a second-round pick, before going on to give the Warriors an All-Star player capable of doing many things on the court, mostly on the defensive end.

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“There will never be a person who I want to prove to more than myself. The same people that say I lost a step, said I never had a step. They’re the same people that said I’d never make it, and I should be out of the NBA, and I’m riding coattails. The list goes on and on. Those are the same people,” Green said, before shrugging several times.

“Ultimately, when you step on the floor, this is competition. You wanna be the best. If you don’t bring your best against Kawhi Leonard, you get embarrassed,” he told reporters during his postgame press conference.

Green said he stays prepared for the big moments and feels he still has “a lot left in the tank” when it comes to playing in the league. He reiterated that he doesn’t care about proving anything to critics, but cares about proving things to himself.

“I know my expectations are way higher than anybody else, so if I can prove me right, it’s a piece of cake proving everybody else right,” he said.

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Green, 36, has now been in the league for 14 years, first arriving as a second-round pick from Tom Izzo’s Michigan State Spartans. One of the knocks against him ahead of the 2012 NBA Draft was his size, and he went 35th in the second round.

At 6-foot-7, some considered him too small to play power forward effectively and too slow to play small forward. That raised questions about his ability to guard taller or faster players, which he’s since proven he can do.

Back then, he also received praise for his versatility, high basketball IQ, rebounding, passing, and vocal leadership. He’s since evolved into a 2017 NBA Defensive Player of the Year, a five-time NBA All-Defensive First Team, a four-time All-Star, and a four-time champion.

This Warriors’ roster might not remain intact much longer, but thanks to his contribution against the Clippers, Green and Golden State get to keep playing for another shot at the NBA Playoffs.

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This story was originally published April 16, 2026 at 9:14 AM.