There’s off-the-court work to do for the Oklahoma City Thunder before becoming legitimate NBA title contenders.
In Tuesday’s episode of “The Draymond Green Show,” the Warriors forward pointed out what he believes is hindering the Thunder from establishing themselves as a legitimate championship-contending team.
Hint: it has everything to do with the physiological part of the game.
"The one thing I see with the OKC team that is a little alarming for me is like their postgames,” Green told co-host and former Golden State guard Baron Davis. “Like, seven guys in the interview. There's a certain seriousness that it takes to win in this league, and there's a certain fear you have to instill in teams in order to win.”
Instead of instilling fear, the four-time NBA champion sees a young, talented Thunder team, which finished the 2023-24 NBA season first in the Western Conference, doing the opposite, especially in front of cameras postgame.
“And I don't know if they're instilling that fear in teams with all of the bromance and stuff after the game,” Green added. “Like, 'Bro, we're all the bros and the homies.' It's like, that's cool.
“There's a time and a place for that but after every time that someone is in the interview, you guys got seven guys, eight guys. Then you have the same seven, eight guys with pictures with Josh Giddey right after they played.”
Golden State Warriors
Green himself has had plenty of fun on and off the court throughout his illustrious career. He’s not against the Thunder doing so either, but the veteran forward made it clear that the time for Oklahoma City to go down in league history is now.
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After all, if anyone knows what it takes to lift the Larry O’Brien Trophy, it’s Green.
“Again, I'm all for having fun,” Green said. “It's an 82-game season, you should have fun, but you also have to understand when people are looking at you to be the team and you have to understand when your moment is.
“And right now, I don't think OKC understands, but their moment is now. Their moment started last year. You go out and have that regular season, your clock starts now. You're no longer the team that is just building through the draft.
“You've arrived. It is now time for you to take that next step, and I'm not sure they quite understand everything that that entails.They understand the play; [those] boys [are] special. They go out there and they win.”
Time will tell if superstar guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the rest of the Thunder roster follow Green's well-sound advice.
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