The Golden State Warriors star lost faith during his prime for one key reason.
There are many contributing factors as to why the Golden State Warriors built a dynasty. From top to bottom, the entire club was clicking. They built through the draft, building a core of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.
Now, the franchise is playing with older versions of Curry and Green, while Thompson is sporting a Dallas Mavericks jersey, the first time in his NBA career he’s worn a non-Warriors jersey. They aren’t quite the same team they used to be, but they’re still trying to squeeze out one more title with Curry at the helm.
There current woes don’t take away from the dominance the trio provided during their prime in the 2010s era. For Green, though, there was one key moment that destroyed his confidence for years.
Green details one moment that shattered his confidence in his career
Green is a lot of things for the Warriors. He’s a physical, stout defender who isn’t afraid to set the tone in any give game. Offensively, he’s a great screen-setter and playmaker within the Warriors’ system. He leans into his high IQ, which helps the team overall and provides coaching on the court.
The Michigan State product was essential to the team’s success during their dynasty, even with the arrival of Kevin Durant during the 2016 offseason. There is one hole to his game, however, and it got even worse after one moment in the NBA Finals.
During the 2016 NBA Finals, the Warriors let the Cleveland Cavaliers complete a 3-1 series comeback to make history and determine an NBA champion. Green scored 32 points while going 6-of-8 on 3-pointers, though it was the worst thing that could have happened to him, as he revealed on “The Draymond Green Show” with then-Cavliers coach Ty Lue on as a guest.
“My mindset ends up turning into, ‘Well, they want me to take this shot, because I just had 35 in Game 7, and we lost.’ So then I stopped shooting,” Green recalled. “Because I’m like, ‘They want me to take this shot.’
“In turn, I then spent two-and-a-half years with zero confidence in my shot. And just DHOing [dribble hand off] and finding creative ways to get Steph and Klay involved because I didn’t want to shoot because I lost all the confidence.”
The Cavaliers intentionally let Green shoot. They let him have good, quality looks, which he knocked down. However, as he mentioned to Ty Lue, who was the Cavaliers’ coach at the time, this ruined his confidence because that’s what Lue and Cleveland wanted, which led to the Warriors’ loss.
Green’s shooting is bouncing back after years of struggles
The Warriors went 73-9 in the 2015-16 NBA season, though the Game 7 loss in the NBA Finals crushed Green. In the following seven seasons, Green didn’t shoot better than 30.8% on 3-pointers. Of course, the arrival of Durant helped lighten the load for him and lowered the pressure of him needing to convert on those 3-pointers.
However, Green had a massive bounce-back season during the 2023-24 NBA season. While the Warriors’ franchise is waning, the franchise legend shot 39.5% on 3-pointers, the highest mark in his career. This season, he’s converting on 37.7% of his 3-pointers, still above league average.
The Michigan State product might be aging, as well as Curry, but he remains a key piece to the club’s success. Green being able to shoot consistently from deep is massive for the team as they try to accommodate new roster changes and play styles.
