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After a third straight mention to the All-Star team, Draymond Green looked back at his road through the NBA.
Most are familiar with him being drafted with the 35th pick of the 2012 NBA Draft, and since able to recite every one of the 34 players that came before him — a sign of the huge chip on his shoulder coming into the league.
But unbeknown to most is that he almost transferred out of his alma mater, Michigan State, after his first season with the team.
His then-coach Tom Izzo, didn't play him a single minute of a burning rivalry with Ohio State, which made him fume even more. His mother was thankfully there to veer him off that road.
“Ma, you’ve got to get me out of here,” Green said, according to Melissa Rohlin of the San Jose Mercury News. “She said, ‘You’ll be all right.’ She said, ‘You’ve made your bed, you’ve got to lay in it.’ I was like, ‘Nah, I need to go. Not playing, what’s this?'”
“I was ready to go. I had no interest in being there anymore. She kind of made me stay. Thank God she did.”
Green went on to be one of the most impactful players in school history, chasing school legends like Charlie Bell and Magic Johnson, recording not one, but two triple-doubles during his junior season, the latter was only the seventh in NCAA Tournament history.
His senior season was by far his most outstanding, averaging 16.2 points and 10.6 rebounds, leading the Spartans to a 24-7 season and an Elite 8 appearance.
Green has come a long way since his 18-year-old self, showing no quit as the emotional leader of this Golden State Warriors team.
