Getty Images Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors.
Draymond Green has been very complimentary of Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James of late, and the Golden State Warriors forward came to the defense of “The King” once again in a recent Instagram post.
James recently participated in the Drew League, scoring 42 points and grabbing 16 rebounds while producing a hefty highlight reel. Green didn’t play but sat courtside to see James play alongside Bulls star DeMar DeRozan.
“Watched [The King] at the Drew yesterday. It was legendary,” Green wrote as part of an Instagram story. “Be careful listening to those that build off biting the culture but tries to crush those that build/built it. It’s fishy. #TNM”
Dray with a message on IG
It’s a somewhat coded message from Green but it’s clear that he has love for James, which he has recently displayed in spades. However, not everyone is feeling Green being so complimentary of his long-time rival on the court.
“For everyone saying why do people care, have you seen lebron talk/post about dray at all?? This clearly a one way relationship,” one comment read on a screenshot of the post.
“This is honestly getting kinda weird now,” another commenter weighed in. “Does Bron got some dirt on Draymond or what? He’s borderline flirting with Bron.”
It should be noted, Green and James share an agency in Klutch, which Green joined in 2019. While they’ve had their battles in the Finals, the duo have built a relationship away from the court. Green has been a guest on James’ HBO show “The Shop” and has been seen with him at various events.
LeBron Joked About Getting in ‘Pissing Match’ With Green
James did cause a bit of a stir this offseason with some comments on hypothetically joining the Warriors as they made their run to a fourth title in eight years. The Lakers star was asked which team still left playing he’d want to join and he responded swiftly with the Warriors, with Green being the key reason.
“It would be Golden State,” James said on “The Shop.” “I would love to get into a pissing match with Draymond. I love when someone [is] cussing me out.”
During their title run, Green talked about facing James and said that facing the Celtics really didn’t stack up to the challenge he battled previously.
“Well it doesn’t compare to, like, mentally playing against LeBron James, who I think is arguably the smartest guy to ever play this game,” Green said. “Not ‘one of,’ he’s arguably the smartest guy to step foot on a basketball court. So to say that it compares to that, it’s disrespectful to LeBron and it’s a lie to you.”
It also sounds like one of his first calls after hoisting his fourth Larry O’Brien Trophy was James, who also has four rings to his name.
“I was on the phone with ‘Bron the other day, and I’m just telling him like ‘Bruh, going from three to four is insane,’ and he was like ‘Yo, I’m telling you, like, it’s crazy,’ ” Green said on his podcast.
LeBron Has Shown Lots of Love for Stephen Curry
James has an open admirer of Green’s teammate, Stephen Curry, who captured his first Finals MVP after the Warriors knocked off the Celtics in six games. When Curry dropped 43 points in Game 4 of the Finals, James took to Twitter to praise the Golden State sharpshooter.
“‘THEY’ will try to do anything in their powers to not acknowledge simply how “DIFFERENT he is! It’s rare and rare is not liked & appreciated,” James tweeted.
James also lauded Curry after his 50-point peformance during the All-Star game as part of Team LeBron, earning him MVP honors in the exhibition.
“This guy is from a different planet. He literally has an automatic sniper connected to his arm. And when he lets it go, not only himself, but everybody on the floor and the fans on TV — watching on their phones or whatever you watch it on — you think it’s going in every time,” James said.
While it’s all love off the court, James’ Lakers will be hungry to knock off Green, Curry and the Warriors next season as they eye a return to the playoff after a rough 33-49 campaign.
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