The Warriors’ season-ending NBA Play-In Tournament loss to the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday has many reflecting on Golden State’s dynastic run over the last decade.
Draymond Green has the perfect story to encapsulate Golden State's decade-long success and development as a franchise, which came to be largely due to the consistent stardom of Green, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson.
In Thursday’s episode of the “Draymond Green Show,” the 12-year NBA veteran forward shared a story about Marshawn Lynch and his humor surrounding the Warriors’ struggles heading into Green’s first year in 2012.
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“Lamar Woodley -- one of my OGs, [a] big brother from Saginaw, Michigan; Pittsburgh Steelers legend, Super Bowl Champion -- he always had a camp every year in Saginaw in the summer,” Green prefaced. “And Marshawn Lynch always came to the camp. Marshawn loves Saginaw, I’m sure it reminds him of Oakland -- I got nothing but love for Marshawn, [a] big brother of mine. But I’ll never forget this moment.
“We were standing in the parking lot of Stardust Lanes in Saginaw [and] Lamar was like ‘Yo, [Draymond] just got drafted to the Warriors, he’s going to be in Oakland.’ And Marshawn was like, ‘Ha-ha-ha, y’all suck. The Warriors don’t never win. Y’all suck.’ And I was like ‘Yeah, that’s going to change … I don’t ever suck, that’s going to change.’ I’ll never forget that.”
Lynch, a star running back for the Seattle Seahawks at the time, then represented most people’s perception of the Warriors -- especially in the East Bay, Golden State’s former home of 47 years. A Bay Area icon, he grew up in Oakland, attended Oakland Technical High School, played collegiately for the California Golden Bears and essentially wrapped up his storied NFL career with the then-Oakland Raiders -- if anyone had a reason to put a positive spin on the Warriors, it was the hometown Lynch.
Nevertheless, when Green was selected No. 35 overall by the Warriors in the 2012 NBA Draft, Golden State was coming off a 23-win season and a five-year playoff drought. While Green wasn’t happy with Lynch’s jab, he understood the narrative surrounding the Warriors had to be addressed, and it’s safe to say it has been.
Golden State Warriors
“This was a moment in my life that I’ll never forget,” Green added. “I have never been a loser in my life. I’ve won at every level of basketball. So, to think that I’m coming to an organization that like lose, lose, loses, to me, I’m like, ‘Oh nah, we’re going to win.’ I was that dumb to believe that we were going to win. We won 23 games the year before, I was that naïve. Like, I had never lost in my life.
“That story is less about Marshawn and more about who the Warriors were. To come out of college and get drafted to that organization, and to think 12 years later, [we] won four titles with the same guys -- six finals appearances with the same guys, won 73 games with the same guys. [We] hardly ever lost. We lost three playoff series in 11 years, that’s crazy.
“The common thought of the organization was what Marshawn said. We were the laughingstock of the NBA, for sure.”
Green was far from naïve, as he and the Warriors made the playoffs seven straight times to begin his career with three titles. He refused to be a “loser.”
But he was right about Lynch’s assessment, as it was the norm regarding the Warriors for a while.
Lynch classically wasn't going to let the then-rookie off easy.