Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green has expressed his eagerness to team up with LeBron James before he retires.
In a recent conversation with Shaquille O’Neal on The Big Podcast, Green revealed his desire to play alongside James, citing the opportunity to witness James’ basketball IQ in action on a day-to-day basis.
“I would love to play with Bron,” Green expressed, emphasizing his admiration for James’ basketball intellect and the chance to observe his decision-making process on and off the court.
While Green missed the opportunity to join James on Team USA for the 2024 Paris Olympics, he remains hopeful for future opportunities to collaborate with the Lakers superstar.
“I thought I had the opportunity this summer to check that off the box. It didn’t happen for me, but I would love to play with Bron,” Green explained.
“Not necessarily I want to be on this NBA team, but I would have loved the opportunity to play together because I want to see how his mind works on a day-to-day basis in the basketball setting.
“I am like, when I look at guys with IQ, I think that’s one of the best things about Bron is his IQ and I can respect that. So I would have loved the opportunity to just see on a day-to-day basis how his mind works like, when something is going on where there’s adjustment that need to be made, how you process that, what’s your process like, the things you go through, how you land here or land there. I would have loved the opportunity. But for that reason I would have loved to play with Bron.”
Acknowledging his privilege to have played alongside Stephen Curry for over a decade, Green reflected on Curry’s transformative influence on the sport.
“I’ve gotten to play with Steph Curry for 12 years, watch what he does night in and night out for 12 years. Like, the way he’s changed the game of basketball. I got to watch that change firsthand,” Green stated, underscoring Curry’s unparalleled impact.
Green also said that the other players that he would love to play together with, such as O’Neal, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, have already left the sport.
