The Golden State Warriors have won eight straight games after a 0-3 start. Most of the credit has gone to Stephen Curry and rookie Yaxel Lendeborg, and rightly so.
Draymond Green wants fans to notice something else, and it does not show up in the box score. It goes back to a team meeting with Steve Kerr and one answer from a 33-year-old veteran on a minimum deal.
In a clip from The Draymond Green Show shared on X on Tuesday, Green opened up on what Georges Niang has brought to the Warriors. His answer took him back to two names every Dubs fan knows well.
“I compare it to Otto Porter and Nemanja Bjelica, we had a meeting and Steve Kerr gave us a homework assignment and he was like ‘tomorrow, you will define what your role is on this team,’” Green said.
“And one of the things Georges said which I thought was incredible is he said ‘Keep the vibes high and the laughs flowing,’ I don’t think people understand how much that matters throughout the course of an 82-game season,” he added, via The Draymond Green Show.
“I compare it to Otto Porter and Nemanja Bjelica, we had a meeting and Steve Kerr gave us a homework assignment and he was like ‘tomorrow, you will define what your role is on this team’ and one of the things Georges
Why the Otto Porter and Nemanja Bjelica Comparison Matters
That comparison carries real weight in the Bay. Porter and Bjelica both joined Golden State on minimum deals in 2021. A year later, both were celebrating a title after the Warriors beat the Boston Celtics in the 2022 NBA Finals.
Neither one was a star on that team. They filled their roles and did the little things. Green clearly sees that same buy-in from Niang, plus a little extra energy in the locker room.
A Full-Circle Return for Georges Niang After a Lost Season
Niang’s road back to Golden State has been a long one. The Warriors waived him before the 2017-18 season, and he spent the first half of that year with their G League team in Santa Cruz.
The Utah Jazz signed him in January 2018, and he built his NBA career from there. Then he missed all of 2025-26 with a left foot injury, and the Warriors brought him back in August on a one-year, $3.9 million deal.
The bet made sense. Niang is a career 40 percent shooter from three. Before the injury, he was one of the most durable bench players in the league, playing at least 72 games in five straight seasons.
The timing of Green’s comments also fits. The Warriors opened the season 0-3 and have not lost since. Monday’s 138-87 blowout of the New Orleans Pelicans pushed their winning streak to eight and their record to 8-3.
Along the way, they became the first team since the 1950-51 Boston Celtics to climb to 7-3 after losing their first three games.
Golden State now starts a five-game road trip on Wednesday in Houston. Long trips are where seasons can slip. That is where a guy like Niang earns his spot, even on nights his shot is not falling.
Draymond Green Opens Up on Georges Niang’s Behind-the-Scenes Impact on Warriors