Draymond Green‘s last summer was supposed to be a turn of the page, a new experience after getting suspended for Game 5 of the 2016 NBA Finals — to many, the reason his Golden State Warriors blew a 3-1 lead against their rival Cleveland Cavaliers in the biggest of spotlights after a record-breaking 73-9 regular season.
The opportunity to travel with Team USA to Rio De Janeiro for the 2016 Olympics was supposed to be that much-needed fresh start mid-year, but it ended up being just a continuation of a low point in his career.
Green was arrested for a confrontation with a Michigan State senior cornerback Jermaine Edmonson in East Lansing, Mich. — a deed which nearly took him out of the running for his travel to Brazil to join Team USA.
To make matters worse, the 6-foot-7 forward was barely garnering minutes within Mike Krzyzewski‘s squad while dealing with a Snapchat incident after he inadvertently sent a public image of his genitals.
After that took place, he knew he had some growing up to do.
“I was still approaching it like I'm just a second-round pick playing basketball, having a good career,” Green told Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. “And I was someone who people were checking on. I became a household name. I became an All-Star. I became an Olympian. So, it just wasn't that anymore. And I don't say that in a cocky way. I say that in the humblest way as possible. But, your life grows, your career grows. It reaches different stages. And I wasn't ready for the stage.”
The Warriors executives didn't take it too kindly, after it was seemingly headline after headline with Green's name on it, and not for any right reasons.
“It was like the Finals and then the arrest, and then (Snapchat). (Team president) Bob Myers called, and he was like, ‘Are you done? If not, just tell me. We'll figure it out. But are you done?'” Green said. “I said, ‘Bob, I'm done. I got to get my shit together. I'm good. I'm done. I'm on the right track. I'm headed in the right direction.' And that was it. The Snapchat thing was where it was like, ‘All right, it's catching up to me.'”
Green was able to right the ship at the right time and start the season with the right mindset, making winning his sole focus as a member of the Warriors and Defensive Player of the Year his own personal goal after the award had escaped him for two straight seasons.
“For a minute, I didn't grow with it,” Green said after his Warriors were crowned champions for the second time in three seasons. “My career and my life grew. It started to outgrow me, and I had to catch up.”
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