The Golden State Warriors star guard Steph Curry had a thorough discussion with Draymond Green after the November incident involving Rudy Gobert, which resulted in a five-game suspension.
Green shared with ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne the thoughts that crossed his mind during a conversation with Curry that resembled a previous one they had.
“When I watched it back, I said, ‘Damn, I held him much longer than I realized in that moment,'” Green said. “But the reality is, in those moments, you don’t know what time is. You don’t have a sense of time.”
Green likened the sensation to the high stakes and intensity experienced during Game 7 of the 2016 Finals.
“I had no clue,” he said. “You don’t have a sense of time during these things. It’s spur of the moment. Everything’s moving, everything’s going.”
Curry and Green have been playing together on the same team since 2012, and their professional bond is widely recognized for its closeness.
“That’s the conversation we had,” Curry told ESPN. “I was like, ‘I worry less about what you did, but more the why and how it happened.’
“We’ve been together so long, he’s told me about a lot of the stuff that’s happened to him personally along the way. There are a lot of stressors. … But we all breathe life from him. I don’t know anybody who can replace that. He’s such a barometer for how we’re playing, how motivated we are. His effect on the room is strong. So it’s a blessing and a curse.”
Green shared the message that Curry conveyed to him in the aftermath of the Gobert incident.
“Steph just said to me, ‘Listen, you’re going to do what you do because that’s your role. But we need your performance,'” Green recalled. “‘But I’m not going to tell you how to be you because I can’t do that. I’m not going to tell you to change. Only going to tell you, whatever you have to do, we need you on the court. I need you on the court.’
“I could appreciate that because I’m never going to go to Steph and say, ‘Hey, man, we need you to stop shooting.'”
Stephen Curry Wanted To Know 'Why', 'How' From Draymond Green Following Rudy Gobert Incident https://t.co/e0RD14TiSU
— RealGM (@RealGM) December 15, 2023
