Golden State Warriors All-Star forward Draymond Green recently sat down for an interview with Sam Alipour for ESPN The Magazine in which he discussed the new and improved Los Angeles Lakers, his favorite Stephen Curry story and his love for trash-talk
Speaking of the latter, Green dubbed himself "the best trash-talker in the game," and says that it's a knack that simply can't be taught. For example, he explained what really happened when he told Paul Pierce, "you ain't Kobe."
Per ESPN:
"I am the best trash-talker in the game, but it's spur of the moment. For instance, the Paul Pierce thing that got a lot of pub, when I told him, "You ain't Kobe. There ain't gonna be no farewell tour!" He was yapping from the start: "Kill him, Blake [Griffin]! He too little! He too little!" So I'm like, "Yo. Shut up. Like, that's not true. That's proven to not be true." He kept yapping, so finally I'm like, "Yo" -- and it just came out. I didn't plan it. I'm not going into a game thinking about Paul Pierce."
Although he is the self-appointed best trash talker in the NBA, Draymond says there are a select few players that he just couldn't bark at on the court, both of which are future Hall of Famers who are no longer playing.
Per ESPN:
“The guy I’d never waste my breath on? Tim Duncan. As a rookie, I tried talking junk to Tim, and he was like a tree staring back at me. [Laughs] No expression. I said, “All right. It’s over.” Never talked junk to him again. After that, anytime he fell, I’d be the first person to help him up, like I was his teammate. [Laughs] I also tried talking junk to Kobe [Bryant], maybe my second year. On a potential game winner, Mark Jackson put me in to guard him, and I got the stop. I said, “Yeah, I’m locking that s— up!” He looked at me like I was crazy and said, “That miss ain’t got nothing to do with you. Sit down.” I said, “Oh, s—! All right, I’m out.”
Draymond and the Warriors will begin the quest for the their consecutive NBA title next Tuesday, October 17, when they host the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second game of TNT's opening night double-header.
You can read Draymond's full interview with ESPN here.
