Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green is breaking his silence.
Following the Warriors’ 122-101 season-ending loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals on Friday, Green turned to his podcast to respond to any critics who are calling the end of the Warriors dynasty that has claimed four NBA championships in the past eight years.
“A lot of people saying the Warriors dynasty is over, which are the same people that said it was over in 2019 when (Kevin Durant) left,” Green said in his first podcast since being eliminated. “It’s not.”
The Warriors − featuring the core of Green, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson − won the 2015 title. They lost in the 2016 NBA Finals to the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers, but the Warriors upgraded their roster in the offseason with Kevin Durant. The Warriors won back-to-back titles over the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2017 and 2018 with Durant, the two-time Finals MVP. Golden State also made the 2019 NBA Finals, but lost to Kawhi Leonard and the Toronto Raptors following a string of injuries. Durant left the Warriors that offseason for the Brooklyn Nets, but the Warriors hoisted the Larry O’Brien Trophy again in 2022.
“Four years later, they are still saying it’s over,” Green said. “Great. They are always wrong.”
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Green continued: “Those same people are the same folks that said I would never make it in the NBA. Those people are the same folks that said, ‘They are a jump shooting team and they won’t win.’ It’s those people. But also know and pay attention to who the people that are saying the dynasty is over. It’s always people that have never been a part of a dynasty. You never really see Shaquille O’Neal, the great Shaq, my favorite player as a kid growing up, say, ‘Oh man, it’s over.’ You know why? Because that man understands what it’s like, he gets it.”
Despite Green’s reassurance, many questions remain. Roster decisions, financial considerations and front-office uncertainty loom ominously in the offseason. Is this the end of Warriors championship dynasty? Are owners willing to commit massive luxury tax payments to a team that finished sixth during the regular season and lost in the second round? Will president of basketball operations Bob Myers return?
Contributing: Jeff Zillgitt
