Getty LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers and Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors.
The Golden State Warriors denied Draymond Green the chance to see Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James break the NBA’s all-time scoring record earlier this season.
Green and James have been heated rivals over their careers, facing off in the NBA Finals four times. They will add another chapter when they meet up in the Western Conference semifinals over the coming weeks.
But off the court, the two are great friends and share an agency in Klutch. Green had been fairly adamant he would be there when James broke the record in February but his head coach Steve Kerr had other plans with the Warriors in a heated playoff chase.
“Yeah, I was definitely going. It was a TNT game,” Green told Andscape’s Marc J. Spears. “I was doing the broadcast and Steve said, ‘I don’t think that’ll be great for our team. While we’re flying out on the road, you’re flying to LA, guys see that, guys see you on the TV calling the game. This is a big game for us against Portland.’ I said, ‘All right, respect. No problem. I’ll be there with my team.’
“I flew to Portland, we got to get a win and we’re here. So, it definitely was something that I wanted to be present for. It was just such a big moment in life and friendship. But there will be other big moments and we’ll create great memories.”
Congrats my brother @KingJames 🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐 not hearing anything they sayin!! #38388
Green watched from afar and put up a GOAT-heavy tweet following James setting the new mark for scoring in the NBA.
Draymond Green Sounded Off About Turning Page on LeBron James
The second-round matchup between the Warriors and Lakers is a unique one, with Golden State coming in as the No. 6 seed and the Lakers No. 7. But for Green, it was no surprise and made it clear that it’s not time to write off some of the all-time greats involved on both sides.
“Stop trying to turn the page on us so fast,” Green said April 30. “Stop trying to turn the page on ‘Bron so fast. We get so caught up in, ‘What’s the next thing?’ that we don’t appreciate the current.
“And then you get to the next thing and looking back like, ‘I wish we still had that. I wish we could still see this.’ So for me and our guys, we’re gonna appreciate this every step of the way.”
The comment from Green might have also alluded to some comments made by Memphis pest Dillon Brooks, who called James “old” during the series. The 38-year-old James made him regret the trash talk, averaging 22.2 points, 11.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists in the series, which the Lakers wrapped up in six games.
LeBron James Defends Relationship With Draymond Green
GettyDraymond Green and LeBron James react during a game between the Golden State Warriors and the LA Lakers.
James is also a fan of Green but doesn’t see their relationship getting in the way of the Lakers’ championship aspriations.
“We have a great relationship that lies off the floor that people don’t wanna understand and that’s okay,” James said. “Who cares. That doesn’t stop us from going out and competing at a high level and wanting the other to not be successful when we go against each other. But when we’re not playing each other, we support each other, both on and off the floor.”
Green’s Warriors are slight favorites to win the series against the Lakers. The defending champs are -160 to win the series.