Why re-engaged Draymond swings Warriors’ pendulum of success

Why re-engaged Draymond swings Warriors’ pendulum of success originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – Cell phone flashlights sway back and forth throughout the Chase Center stands. Draymond Green and his Warriors teammates have their cell phones out, too. Green raises his arms up and down at the start of the song and bounces his way over to the scorer’s table to join a dancing Steph Curry.

It’s one week from the 2024-25 NBA regular season and the Warriors are enjoying their annual tradition of karaoke for the rookies at open practice, with Quinten Post of the Netherlands belting out Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’.” When Curry and Green hop down from the scorer’s table, Green is dancing and singing along, fully immersed in the moment at 34 years old, about to enter his 13th season with the Warriors. He’s so immersed that Green won’t allow Jackson Rowe, next on the mic, to get away with only singing one verse of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” by Marvin Gaye, playfully booing Rowe so hard that he started all the way over.

There Green is again on the scorer’s table, this time by himself, kicking his legs, dancing and singing every word. The next day, a flip switches. It’s go-time for Green and the Warriors.

“He’s been fantastic,” Kerr said the following day after practice. “He’s so locked in. Today, it was our best practice of camp, and a big reason why is Draymond basically was stepping in and coaching in spots where guys needed guidance or if he saw something.”

That right there, that balance of Green, is when he’s at his best. Engaged in every way as a teammate and person, something that fell by the wayside a bit the past two tumultuous seasons.

“Draymond, first and foremost, he’s always on his A game,” Warriors second-year center Trayce Jackson-Davis said. “But this practice, he just went above and beyond. Was teaching guys, was doing a lot of things – a lot of really, really good things that helped our team. When a guy does that, a lot of us young guys feed off of that.”

Whatever lessons Green was teaching his teammates, whatever wisdom was handed to…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/why-engaged-draymond-swings-warriors-164023227.html

Author : NBC Sports BayArea

Publish date : 2024-10-23 16:40:00

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