Despite their turbulent on-court history, Draymond Green totally has embraced having Chris Paul as a member of the Warriors.
On a recent episode of "The Draymond Green Show,” Green expressed to Paul how much he values and respects having him as a teammate, going so far as to state that if he were to make a ranked list of his top teammates over his 12-year NBA career, Paul would be in the top five.
“If I put up a list of teammates, and I went down this list and it has been 12 years now for me, and I went through this list of teammates and I start putting my list in order of my top teammates, what I’m certain of is that you’re top five,” Green said.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Green went on to explain how much he has enjoyed playing with Paul this season, and that the guard has turned into a model teammate.
“The time that I have been with the team and my practices, our practices and time spent together, all that time, I’m like, 'Yo, he represents everything that I could want in a teammate,' " Green said. "S--t going wrong? First person to check on you. Stuff went right? First person to congratulate you. What you’re doing for dinner? What you’re doing for this thing? What did you see on the floor? Across the board, I’m like, 'Wow, that’s what I try to be for my teammates.’
“So, all of those things, checking all those boxes. I don’t even know where I’m going with this, but I just wanted you to know that.”
In response to Green’s comments, Paul echoed similar sentiments, explaining how he did not initially want to come to the Warriors unless they resigned Green.
Golden State Warriors
“I’ll never forget when they called me and said it was a possibility, and people wouldn’t even know this except for my family, I told them, I said, ‘Well, I don’t want to come if Draymond ain’t signing back.’ ” Paul said. “And that’s why me and you always talk about it, the social media world and all that, they don’t really know what’s happening.
"I didn’t really want to come to the Warriors without you being here. As much as we fought, got into it and all that, I saw the way that you protected Steph[Curry], Klay [Thompson], all those guys over this time. It was like, ‘Damn, if we can figure it out, if we can play and be on the same team, it’s going to be hell for the other teams.’
“That’s what I’ve appreciated and regardless of how this season has been so far, that’s where the ups, the downs, the wins and losses, they come but that’s why we keep saying in our locker room, ‘We’re going to be fine.’ ”
The Warriors made huge headlines in the NBA offseason by making the move for Paul as part of the Jordan Poole trade, which sent the 19-year veteran to Golden State. Paul famously was a major foe for Green and the Warriors when he was a member of the Los Angeles Clippers and the Houston Rockets.
The relationship between Paul and Green has been a unifying force for a Warriors team that has had to weather its fair share of tough moments during this season.
From Green’s multiple suspensions to Paul’s broken hand along with plenty of other injuries and setbacks, the Warriors have struggled to maintain a consistent level of play, with the team right on the outside edge of playoff contention.