‘I have nothing but respect for that’: Draymond Green congratulated the Celtics for winning NBA title
"Well deserved. Fun to watch."
Draymond Green on the Celtics’ championship: Given the mutual dislike that Celtics fans and Warriors forward Draymond Green have for each other, it’s notable whenever a player with such a history pays credit to Boston.
Yet that’s exactly what Green did after the Celtics’ clinched the team’s 18th NBA championship (which, to be fair to Green, is also a continuation of how he’s viewed the 2024 NBA playoffs).
“Brad Stevens made the moves that needed to be made. Congrats to him,” Green began during a recent segment on his podcast, “The Draymond Green Show.”
He then discussed his friendship with Jayson Tatum, who he won a gold medal with as part of Team USA at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
“When you have a relationship with someone, you only want to see them do well,” said Green, reflecting on the Celtics-Warriors matchup in the 2022 finals. “It’s crazy because I remember going back to the NBA Finals in 2022 and I didn’t say a word to JT.
“I didn’t say a word because we were in the NBA Finals. I don’t need anything that can take me off my square,” he said. “The love that I have for that young man right there can take me off my square. So I didn’t say hi. I didn’t say bye. I did see Deuce in the hallway a couple times, and moms in the hallway a couple times and I definitely said hi to them.”
Green, 34, has won four NBA titles in his career with Golden State. He noted that Tatum, who was in his first finals in 2022, hadn’t acclimated to the league’s biggest stage during what ended up being a loss.
“He didn’t know what to make of it, and it was actually bothering me that I could see that,” Green recalled. “The moment it finished, I went straight to him to hug him. I told him it’s been bothering me so much to not talk to him. I said, ‘But now you get it. Now you understand what the mindset has to be in order to actually do this.’ Many people get close. Go to a finals and lose and never go back.”
Tatum’s Celtics nearly returned to the finals in 2023, but lost to the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals in seven games after falling behind 3-0 in the series.
A year later, Boston was able to make the final leap, defeating the Mavericks in five games to clinch a first title since 2008.
“To see him do that, I called him yesterday and he had the trophy, smiling ear-to-ear, and he’s just holding the trophy,” Green said of Tatum. “He said to me, ‘I don’t know what I thought this was going to feel like, but whatever I thought, it’s way better.'”
Green prefaced his congratulatory message by noting that he doesn’t like the Celtics — especially, as he noted, the “rude” fans.
“However, I was thinking about this last night: For a franchise in the NBA to publicize how much they’re going after banner 18 is crazy,” he said. “That’s not standard practice in the NBA. It’s just not. They actually did it. I have nothing but respect for that. A lot of people will tell you you’ve got to ‘go, don’t tell nobody because they’ll try to tear it down.'”
“They kept telling us [their] goal, ‘We’ve got to get banner 18, number 18,’ and they went and actually did it,” Green explained. “If you can’t respect that — I can respect that — so if you can’t respect that, I’m sorry but I can’t respect you.
“That is the definition of standing on what you speak on. Standing on business, however you want to break it down. That is it,” he added. “I’m telling you what I want. I’m telling you I’m going to get it. Oh and by the way, I’m going to get it. Look, I did it. I went and got it. I got nothing but respect for that.”
Looking ahead, Green (who is a core member of the league’s most recent dynasty) noted that new salary rules and several other factors will make it difficult for the current era of the Celtics to become a dynasty in its own right.
Still, assessing Boston’s roster — and the fact that the team will return almost in its entirety next season — he admitted that the Celtics are “set up to compete for multiple titles.”
Trivia: Joe Mazzulla graduated college in 2011. Technically, he would’ve belonged to the 2011 NBA Draft class (though he was not picked, and eventually began his coaching career that fall as an assistant at Glenville State). Can you name the players picked first and last that year?
(Answer at the bottom).
Hint: Both played for the Celtics at different points in their careers, and were once traded for each other (as part of a larger deal).
Scores and schedules:
The Red Sox defeated the Blue Jays 7-3 on Wednesday night to complete the three-game sweep.
Boston, now on a five-game winning streak, begin a three-game series in Cincinnati on Friday at 7:10 p.m.
And on Friday, the Celtics will be back in town for the victory parade following the NBA Finals win to clinch banner 18.
More from Boston.com:
- Duran and Valdez homer, Bello gets win as Red Sox beat Blue Jays 7-3 to complete sweep
- Joe Mazzulla took the NBA championship trophy to the North End
- World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, Mavericks fan, gets a little Celtics ribbing at Travelers Championship
- Jrue Holiday appreciated award from Jack Black
- Jeff Van Gundy grateful for his stint with Celtics as he departs for Clippers
- Alex Cora congratulated the Celtics following NBA Finals win
- Patriots sign former UFL OL Liam Fornadel
- Caitlin Clark and the WNBA are getting a lot of attention. It’s about far more than basketball.
Red Sox highlights: And in case you missed it, enjoy Boston reliever Chris Martin’s ninth inning out recorded on a throw from his back.
On this day: In 1975, the Red Sox beat the Orioles 4-3 in 12 innings, with Carl Yastrzemski collecting three hits and Bill Lee pitching eight innings (allowing only two earned runs).
Elsewhere, soccer legend Pele played in front of a sellout crowd at Nickerson Field in an NASL clash between the Cosmos and Minutemen. The game was interrupted with 11 minutes to go after it appeared Pele had scored (it was later called back due to a foul) and the crowd mobbed the Brazilian star.
Daily highlight: Before hosting the Revolution this weekend, FC Cincinnati played a dramatic Wednesday night game against the Philadelphia Union. Amid a 4-3 comeback win, Cincinnati winger Luca Orellano scored from midfield, successfully chipping the goalkeeper.
Trivia answer: Kyrie Irving, Isaiah Thomas
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