NBA playoffs: Draymond Green sick of players trying to ‘turn the page’ on LeBron James, other old players
“Stop trying to turn the page on us so fast.”
Draymond Green is starting to approach the end of his career.
At 33 years old and in his 11th season in the NBA, there’s no disputing that.
But Green, after the Golden State Warriors beat the Sacramento Kings in Game 7 on Sunday to secure their spot in the Western Conference semifinals, made it clear he’s had enough of guys calling him and others in the league “old.”
Kings guard Malik Monk called Green old during their playoff series. Memphis Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks called LeBron James old in theirs.
“Stop trying to turn the page on us so fast,” Green said Sunday. “Stop trying to turn the page on ‘Bron so fast. We get so caught up in, ‘What’s the next thing?’ that we don’t appreciate the current.
“And then you get to the next thing and looking back like, ‘I wish we still had that. I wish we could still see this.’ So for me and our guys, we’re gonna appreciate this every step of the way.”
“Stop trying to turn the page on us so fast. Stop trying to turn the page on Bron so fast. We get so caught up in what’s the next thing that we don’t appreciate the current.”
Draymond Green on what it means to still be facing against LeBron James 👊pic.twitter.com/urKQf8PCmD— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) April 30, 2023
At least the last two times, the “old” guys have come out on top.
Brooks was picking on James during and after Game 2 of the Grizzlies’ series against the Los Angeles Lakers. After several confrontations during the game, Brooks insisted he didn’t care about pushing James — who is undoubtedly one of the best to ever play the game.
“I don’t care. He’s old … I poke bears,” Brooks said.
That didn’t work out too well for him. James, 38, and the Lakers closed out their series 4-2, and beat the Grizzlies by 40 points in Game 6 to reach the Western Conference semifinals.
Monk made a similar, though far less direct, comment after the Kings beat the Warriors in Game 6 earlier this week.
“I felt it a little more on them,” Monk said. “They were a little tired. We were a little younger than they are … We’re gonna try to do the same thing Sunday.”
Now, the Kings are much younger than the Warriors. Klay Thompson is 33 and Stephen Curry is 35. The Kings have just two guys over 30 on their entire roster, and the oldest — Matthew Dellavedova — is only 32.
But the Warriors got the last laugh after Curry put up a historic 50 points in Game 7 on Sunday. Monk's comment clearly stuck with Green, too.
“Monk said we was old,” Draymond Green said unsolicitedly.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) April 30, 2023
Regardless of how old the two teams are, the Warriors and the Lakers will square off in the Western Conference semifinals starting on Tuesday.
