The volume. What's up, everybody? Welcome back to the Draymond Green Show with my brother BD. How you feeling, my dog, Damn good man. It's the end of the year. It's the end of the season. The birthday is always the last day of the year. So you know, it's serendipitous because you're dead tired. But if you can.
Get over the hump, it's party time. How you feeling, big dog. I'm feeling great, bro. You know, we got this last game. We obviously need to win this game, and like you said, then once you get to the playoffs, you kind of find a new boost the energy.
It's kind of like a reset. And nowadays you get a week off. That's crazy if you clinch top six, so kind of get that new boost. You got a couple of ailments, let them heal a bit and kind of get back to it. But I feel great, man. We got an opportunity to control our own destiny, win on Sunday and get into the playoffs, and so I feel great about it. Still pissed off we smoked that game against San Antonio, Yeah, but nonetheless we got a chance.
It's always one of them games you're like, damn dude. You just now that's gonna hurt, and it get down to the end of the season, be like, man, we could have we could have had this this thing wrapped.
Up, wrapped up all been chilling tomorrow. It's crazy, man. I look at some games in the last few weeks, like that one in the Miami game Atlantic game.
You start, he's starting it picking. I mean, but that's that's the beauty of the game. It's almost like it's all set up that way. Right at the end of the day. You gotta earn your worth in and you gotta earn your ticket in and some little losses.
Or you know, it's like, ah, we'll be all right.
It's like, damn, dude, if we would have had one of that one.
Just one another thing I like is the week off.
Yeah, from the top six seeds, being able to rest, get your body right, watch your you know, watch your opponents.
But you think about four and five.
They get a whole week to prepare for it for what they know is gonna crack in three and six, right.
Absolutely, three and six and four and five. I always felt like one in two and you're kind of at a disadvantage because if you're the one seed. You're literally at the biggest disadvantage because you don't know who you play until two days before you play them. If you're the seventh seed, you've been sitting on your opponent for four days. If you're the three through six, you've been on your opponent for six seven days.
Man.
And so I've always felt like number one was at a disadvantage anyway, like the biggest disadvantage, which is crazy. When you think about a playoff series b D. You figure games one and two is usually call it within three to five days, like from the end of game one, in the game two. Somewhere in there, you start getting to the seventh day mark, you're like on game four. And if you think about how much you know a team after game four, but that's after now seven days
of studying this team. If you're three through six, you essentially in game four in game one from a studying standpoint, from a scouting standpoint, I think that that's an extreme disc I mean advantage for three through six and disadvantage for one to two. Since the playing tournament, although I think it's been great, I think that's one of the downsides of it. And on top of that, you know, you you're the one seed, you got home court advantage.
You sit there, you're like, man, it's kind of like it don't even matter. And if you catch the wrong team at the wrong time, that got the right momentum. You know, I think that's how we got Dallas. You know, you're starting to see it more often now, like Miami did it a couple of times where it just you catch a wave. You catch a wave, and so on the lower seed you don't even care. You're fighting for your life. So you got you got rhythm, you got
playoff atmosphere under your belt. You're almost more prepared than a week of practice or the two days that they need to prepare for you.
Right, that's the fact they coming.
Off of two games or maybe it's three games. It could be, yeah, it's two games, play auth intensity. Right, it's not the one seed, but they played y'all during the season anyway, So now they're.
Ready and in the West that a seed this year can be real like that a seed this year and be a team that is gonna give okay See some trouble because it's a really good team. And you know, okay See is really good. But I'm just saying like it won't be your typical one to eight where you're going, and you just kind of like, oh yeah, we know that this one's washed and it'll be a tough, tough series. And so I think that can get interesting. People always talk about the you know, the rest, you know, the
work versus resting. You know, do you play versus rest? Do you play? Do your rest? Which one is better? You always have that to going on, and now you gotta you get to see it up close. You know where you got to great one seed? You gonna have a really good eight seed that a seed is gonna been to had a couple of playoff games under their belt, rolling into the one seed that've been shunning for a week. You know, Okay, see, I'm sure they'll probably take this
last game off. So that week all of a sudden becomes ten eleven days, man, And that's a lot. That's a lot, and that's a lot of time off, you know, when you're when you're a customer, playing every other day. So I think that can get interested.
You sharpening your tools, but you're not practicing. It ain't no real intensity, right, So you're just sitting around working out, trying to stay in shape. Why everybody else is preparing for somebody and then everybody else is fighting to get to you that I mean, I'm excited for these playoffs, man, I'm telling you, I'm super excited. This is the feeling I had as a kid in the eighties and the nineties,
two thousands, you know, the warrior run era. I think basketball people need to pay attention.
Man.
It's cracking every night, y'all out cracking. It's cracking it. And like it's so much talent in the league, and the intensity and the level of play is really it's on the rise. The competitiveness to you know, the physicality, people really really having rivalries, talking ship to each other. All this is going to start percolating and people are gonna see, oh, this era.
Is real too. That's me. That's a fact. Speaking of rivalries, man, I love the other day watching Joe and play against each other in the Hogh Stakes game guard each other in the Hogh Stakes game. I told y'all a couple of weeks ago, man, my favorite two young guys to take the trash thrown as those two guys and they went out there and guarded each other, like, let's face it, Jah not fit the guard like, right, And when I say not fit like Jiahu Jos small man a little bit,
how you shake. He got the heart of a lion. If you ever see John, he's small like, which makes what he does even more impressive, Which makes the weight that he carry even more impressive because he Jah ain't a big dude at all. Man for him to even go out there and say, no, I'm gonna take on the challenge and guard and that to me just says something about his heart, about why he is who he is,
because that matchup ain't for him. Man on the flip side and a big guys dude like right, a six five six six two twenty solid, And so just the size advantage in itself like that made it all the more impressive, even John going to guard him. Now. I think when you at man, what he has to look at next and his game is all right, I gotta get off the ball now and maybe go get some
post work. You know what I'm saying. He get in that post, he got job on and me getting that post you can make it hard on John now and saying that at a certain point in the game Josh switched off and win the guard to somebody else and because Scottie Pippen Junior was doing a great job on it, you know what I'm saying, and so and he can defend, he can and he and he went to guard end.
But man, just the respect that I've been had respect for both of them young fellas, but you can I gained even more respect just watching them come out in that meaningful game talking about a rivalry. You had everybody praising Joe. He next up and he the next face of the league. And then you know he had this situation and now it's like he you know, everybody throw
him by the wayside. You have like the villain. Yeah, you got young ant man who like I don't even want that, Like I don't even want the face of the league. But it's that type of that level of talent, and in a meaningful game for playoffs standards, they guarded each other. So I respected.
That is their thing with this younger generation when not wanting to be the face, more so want to be the villain and take on a villain persona. I was thinking about that the other day, like when at said that, like aunt don't want to be like a hero, Like, oh, I'm Superman. You know, I'm the great American cover boy. I think he wants to be the villain, right. I think jah as he starts to embrace I'm the villain, he starts to fill out his personality on the court
and his brand on the court. But I think these young deals they like being the villain, and I think they want to find who's the target, Like who's the number one target guy outside of I mean you think like.
A Winby, Like, they don't want to be that. They want to be like this. They want to be the villains, like the upset guy I did talker, right. I just think for them it's more like they'd rather be the people's champs. Right, But you look at where they both come from, it makes sense, you know what I'm saying, Like they right to be the people's champs. And listen, I get it. I respect it to each his own.
I hate the whole conversation of the face of the league, as if like the league just say okay, it's you now here you go Like, I hate that whole thing. But now that I got that out, when you speak on being the face of the NBA, there's just so much that comes with that and in the day and age that we live in, there's even more that comes with that today than did fifteen years ago, Like by a long shot, you know, just your life in general,
there's just so much more that comes with it. And so you got, I think, man, most of these us they're young. They love video games, and they love they play basketball, they play video games, and the generations that they come from, anything that takes you away from that, they don't really want it. Like that's just the generation we're living in where streaming it's video games is you know, that is the generation that we keep speaking of on facing the NBA, Like that's where we are as far
as age goes. And like when I look at KD, I don't think KD ever wanted to be the face of the league. But guess what KD is more that generation of talking about when it comes to video games, and like k want to play basketball and play video games and not do much else. That is this generation though now guys to the extreme. Man, So I think, you know, no one talks about that side of it.
It's like the life side of it, like how your life looks on a day to day basis, and why some of these guys don't want that, but you look at the guys who do want it. Wimby is more old school, Like if you listen to anybody talk about I talked to CP after we played him in San Antonio about women, Like if you talk to anybody about he read a book every day, Like he's more old school. Jason Tatum is more old school, you know what I'm saying.
Jason Tatum isn't like he's more of an older So those are the guys that want it though, you know what I'm saying, But they don't. Their lives are different than say a job or at you know, are most of these young guys like JT got a couple of kids, you know what I'm saying. His life is a little different where he don't play a bunch of video games, like I think there's a philosophical difference that everybody's not talking about. Everybody's just looking at through one lens, which
is basketball. Yeah.
And then you have Jalen Brown, right, who's a little different, who wants it. But it's also you know, not a media darling, right, So you know the media wants a great superhero, right, but the people always love a good villain. Absolutely, that's the persona that even the face of the NBA has to have. They have everybody thinks that they're a villain. Everybody wants to be the disruptor, underdog, and you have to have that mentality. And I think, you know, that's
what is required. It's the culture. It's the culture. They're part of the culture. They're part of hip hop, they're part of what's trying, They're part of social media. You know, when you look at somebody like John Moran, right and the celebrations, he's not that that person. That is just what the culture is, right. Football players do it, you know, kids do it, but at the same time there is
a great responsibility to know what you're doing. But from that villain persona, I think the league you need that controversy. But it's not that these guys are like that, like bad guys, right.
No, that's the fact, they're not bad guys at all. Number One, you don't reach the level of success that they've reached just being bad guys. Like it's hard in this day and age, between social media all these different things to be a bad guy and kind of reach this point, you know, So they're not bad guys they're successful black men. Yes, people go at you so much
that like you almost get a villain mindset anyway. It's just because like you're subject to people going at you twenty four to seven to where you can you got to have to almost like take on that just to push through it. You know what I'm saying, Like you're not gonna keep just coming at me that way.
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You know even in Jah, you know, with his new celebration with which to me look like hilarious hysterica.
But you probably play call of duty. You know, he probably be on call of duty, Like you said, that game and they on call of duty.
They got all the answers. You know what I'm saying that men I said, but I'm taking my words I'm taking my words, throwing them out there and stead up blocking listen. I respected y'all do what you gotta do. Brother. If you're just throwing your words out there and blocking out the noise, what they're gonna say. They can't say nothing. They can't tell you can't throw your words out there and not listen to that was That was a sincings bar. Ever was a bar. Gotta give it to him that one.
That's real player right there, play boy.
What else is cracking around the league? The firing of coach Mike Malone.
What was your reaction to it? I had a few different reactions. Number one, Coach Mo is my god. I love coach Mo. I text Josh Cronkey before many years ago, and I text Josh and and it was around the time where they were kind of like you could tell they were starting to turn that corner but not quite there yet looking to turn the corner. And around that time it was like noise, like dude Denver continued for
Mike Malone and they had a quick playoff exit. I think, and I text Josh and I said, don't be fool by the noise. I think Mike Malone is your guy. Like, I think y'all got y'all guy, and sure enough they end up winning championship with their guy. And so my hunch was right when I look at him being fired. Though you hear the reports to like people tired of his voice, they're tired of his hard coaching, these types
of things. I'm sorry to say, but unfortunately that's why people don't win, because you get tired of hearing the voice that led you to being a winner. I will say, as someone who could be the voice that people get tired of at times that's helping leads you to win it, I get why you can get tired of it. I totally understand. It ain't even that you're not used to it. It's that one thing that I know as a leader is I know people probably get tired of my voice
at times. I'm not surprised that you get tired of my voice. Quite frankly, I don't give a shit whether you get tired of my voice or not, because I know what it takes to lead to win it. And so to hear people say it's coming out like, oh yeah, they were getting tired of Mike Malone's hard style, like it makes complete sense to me. Yeah, it makes complete sense to me. Like people, but even aside from being a player of BD, people get tired of being pushed.
That's what it is. People get tired of being pushed, which is why people don't win over and over and over again. Is why only a select few of people win, because people get tired of being push And so I heard that and it made complete sense to me. You know another thing I heard that bothered me is people trying to put it on Russell Westbrook. Stop it. Oh yeah, y'all need to stop the cap. That's crazy. Russell Westbrook make three million dollars. You're gonna tell me anything to
do with a coach? Is the man that make three If Russell Westbrook could Parliam, they three million dollars, they pen and they can send him home paid. Go home. We don't even want you around here like to try to make this about Russell Westbrook. It's insane to me.
Man, that's crazy. I think the whole thing with Denver is they just got fatigued. Right, you want a championship, you start eating the food. You start tasting more food as you were cooking, so now you start removing some of your ingredients, meaning Bruce Brown, Right, you start removing.
With some of the CACP.
You start removing and let go some key ingredients and it's hard to replace that in the draft and groom that in young people and then try and get that in free agency. So what is missing is always going to be the main subject. And you can see last year they got fatigued, right, They're just getting fatigued. And so the run that they went on to win the
championship was a crazy run. But when you play, what coach was pushing you every day right when the Warriors, when y'all was winning, you know how to motivate yourself. Your voice may be annoying or dudes may get pissed off at times.
But when you win and you know you need that. Now, for a coach, you got to understand there's a time to push these dudes. How to push these dudes? Where are we pushing too? Right?
Because when you're talking about your voice as a coach, and you keep pushing.
You keep pushing. At some point your player's gonna be like, YEO, I had enough. I know what I'm doing. But who's the player in their locker room bed that's doing that joke? Yoke, don't talk much like Jamal Murray don't talk much. So who's the player on that team that's doing that though? Or does the coach have to do it because they don't have a player? So you got to.
Take I think they fired the GM and they fired the coach because they weakened the batter.
Bro Well, I'm saying you got Russell Westbrook, who's that type of player? But I already know the type of vibe he going to come in on because that team won a championship before Rus's gonna come in like, all right, maybe I'm gonna take a backseat here. I'm not gonna do that there. I'm not the main guy here. And so although you could get that demeanor from Russell Westbrook, you're only going to get doses of it because somewhere there's probably a little self consciousness like they want a
championship before. I ain't gonna come in and press too much, you know, And so you may have to they just the team. They're not the same team. But but that's what happens when you start plucking key pieces to championships. Exactly. You just said they're trying to do it in the drivet like, that's that's a that's a very tough thing to do to say that. The GM was mad that Russell Westbrook's playing over Jaylen Pickett, Like that's crazy, that's what happens. It's ridiculous.
Yeah, but that's stuff like that start happened, happening because everybody wants to experiment, Right, everybody got an opinion you've weakened the foundation by letting your key ingredients go. The Warriors were smart about, man, we gonna hold the whole thing together and at maybe one or two guys in free agency and get a draft and then they you know who there for a year, you know who you need to build a foundation.
You got a bad.
Mix of veteran guys and young guys and you have nothing in the middle that those veteran free agents that you needed and needed to keep in sign you didn't have them as your glue. So you're really missing the glue. So when you look at Russ, Russ is a glue person, but he's not a glue person.
Right.
He's a complimentary piece and he's added value right to a team. But where do you fit if you're not a glue guy? Because with the young dudes. They play a different style the way then the way Joker want to play, or how Aaron Gordon, Joker and Porter, how all those dudes Jamal Murray work together. They need KCP in that position. Then you need Russ coming in and working with the young dudes. So everybody is out of predicament.
And that's why you fired a GM. That's why I think these got fired because you can't you can't be experimenting and trying to win the championship because you came off a championship two years ago, so you know, it's like trying to find an identity with no identity. But that's I also think that's why Jokers having the hell of the.
Year because the team isn't as strong. Because the team isn't as strong and they have he has to do a lot more. Whereas before Michael Porter can beat you, Aaron Gordon can beat you. Now those are nights, mh they have a hot night.
But even Jamal Murray like it's talented as he is, it's almost like I mean, and he has been getting injured, but he ain't. He has not taken it to that next echelon of where his talent was supposed to go what we saw in the finals, and that's because you lost your king Greets.
It's hard to lose key ingredient something championship team and think you can just replace him. It don't work like that, that's for sure. But a lot of people also spoke about, like Reggie Jackson being like they lost, They lost pretty much their entire bench. You lose team.
But don't you think that's your personality too, right because you playing on all these championship teams a lot of these dudes, would you say, like, man, I need that's my guy.
I need him even though he don't play. The personality is right. Sometimes you keep a guy. You keep guys around and they may not play at all, Like literally could be fourteen fifteenth man, and you telling Bob like or Mike now, like you know, we need to keep that guy. Yeah, Like we just need that guy on the team, like for the vibe, for something they bring. It ain't always about what this guy going to give us in those minutes. Like and by the way, it's
the NBA. Everybody can play, So it ain't like we saying keep somebody who should be playing somewhere else, like they it's an NBA player, But we need you to keep this guy for this reason like that, Like it ain't always just about basketball, the makeup of that team, the vibes, like we go to dinners and like keep the vibe right or my team. You know what I'm saying. It could be like yo in the locker room, this dude always make us laugh and we be need that
when you down. Like, it could be anything. It ain't just always in those couple spots. It ain't just always about necessarily the production on the court, right, just the energy. It's that energy one.
All right, man, let's get into some nation stuff. I know they want to hear about this last game, right, the intensity of the playoffs. Before we talk about the final game of the season, I want to talk about how did you just right the journey that has brought the team to this point twenty three and six since Jimmy joined the team. Game eighty two is coming up.
Talk about the journey of this team this year. And then where are you guys at coming into game eighty two with a lot on the line at home versus the Clippers?
You know, the two hottest teams to me and the less definitely both playing great basketball. I think for this team when I look back on this year, as you know, it's crazy because somebody asked me yesterday or two days ago, they're like, man, I'm like, hey, man, we got two more games, and he's like, man, do it? Do it go by fast? And I said, not when you in it? And when you in it, it's like stacking on top
of your head fast. You're like, god, me forty five Annapolis and this freezing code of snowing, You're like, oh my god, like I said, but then you get to the end of it and you look back like, hey, that flew by, you know, but when you going through it,
it don't feel like it's flying by. It's slow. And then saying that though this year has been crazy, like when I look at this year, it's been a little all over the place, like we started off great, having an incredible year, got off to a great start, and then we kind of just couldn't find it, like we lost it and couldn't find it. But it felt like
we were right there. And then obviously we make the trade at the deadline for Jimmy and kind of what we thought all along was like, man, it just felt like we're missing one piece, like, but we're right there, and then getting Jimmy like I said at All Star when I said, yo, I think when I said we're going to win the championship, I said that because I was like, oh, yo, like this is the piece that I felt like we were missing and I already wanted
to shoot for a championship anyway. Now we got the piece. And so that's kind of been a year like started off great, awful, and you know, we picked it back up. But it's been an incredible year and they're coming down in Game eighty two. Like you said, I think you always look back on some of those ones you gave it away, like, man if we had that one. But in saying that, you know, it's a tough challenge for us. Is a really good playoff team. They thriving at the
right time. We thriving at the right time. Two great coaches, two incredible Hall of Fame coaches. Like what can you ask for us as an NBA fan, not as an NBA player. As an NBA fan, I'm excited as a player, obviously, this is what you live for. I mean, Clipper Warrior rivalry. You know I've been a part of that.
I think I was the reason why it started to be honest, the Warrior Clipper robbery. I was probably the reason why that whole little thing shook out. You know, I've been coming to the games, playoff games, and to me, you two are the teams, the most complete team, veteran oriented. This is gonna be a great matchup. You play the game sevens right, I feel like this is gonna be that type of vibe, like this.
Is Game seven, like both teams trying to solidify that spot. This is definitely a Game seven atmosphere. You got to make those adjustments fast. You got one one shot at it, one crack at it. So I'm looking forward to it. I'll tell you what though, somebody from the Warriors, man, we got to get bad on for the Warriors as an ambassador. So you can stop talking this Clipper stuff sometimes, you know what I'm saying, Like Raymond Ritter, whoever to
talk about monaw Mike mona, Chir's done. All right, We're just put that out there. I can't it's a little I feel this and y'all ain't feeling this energy I'm feeling right now. I'm feeling this energy on he feeling like you know, he like nowhere. Yeah, he don't know where I really want to go. Where you're supposed to go. I know where he's supposed to go. Telling y'all just make this right. Let's make it right right now.
I appreciate that Jay spoken about the truth king himself now, but you got Kawhi.
Playing well, you're gonna have to guard him.
You got Zubob up for Defensive Player of the Year, came on strong. They're three and oh against you this season. What would have win on Sunday? Men going into those playoffs be.
Huge, huge for the confidence. But he was just to solidify that spot, get that week off, rest up. Know who our opponent is, you know, a showdown with the Lakers, Bron and Steph. We know how that's that whole thing has been for the last ten years. Like, man, it'd be huge for everybody. But I think, you know, for myself and our team, Like you know, the team beat you three times, come out and take care of business. You know what I'm saying. Yep, you know so, I
think this is a big opportunity for us. This is a new team for us. One of those games, one of those games you and Steph didn't play though, I remember that Steph and I didn't play, but you know, then they they made some additions. Bogdanovich's was a big addition for them. Ben Simmons, It's played minutes for them, you know, get him some versatility. So the biggest edition is getting Kawhi Leonard back. You know, he's he looked, he almost looked better than before he got hurt. Man,
that's crazygas bounce way come back. Bro.
The way he come back from an injury is like like he's staying at the level.
This dude is bionic Man. So like, yeah, man, this dude's like bionic Man. Like you just come back like you just can't off of a cl surgery. It's just like yo, and like he never left this man, I'll understand it. Every time he come back from injury, it looked like Kawhi Leonard and San Antonio Kawhi Leonard and Toronto Raters, and I just don't understand it. So that's the biggest edition of all of them. Like obviously getting
him back, it's huge. Zubah is playing even better than he was playing the beginning of the year, and he was playing at a very high level in the beginning of the year. So team's playing great. But also I think you know, we know who we are now, you know we have our identity and were ready to go. So been a great matchup. This could be the Western Conference five match up.
This could determine the Western Conference finals in a magic way.
Yes, it can be.
As we start to wrap up the season and talk about the end of the season, we got, of course who you got into the season awards. First up, we talked about this MVP SGA Joker or CO MVPs.
What do you think I would love to see co MVPs. I would love to see these voters, all hundred of them call each other tally, y'all vote so these guys can tie, because I think it's incredible in saying that, I will have to pick one or the other. I have to guard Joker. I know how tough that is. It's extremely tough. I've seen people get fatigued off of greatness over and over again. Lebron James only has four MVP Trophies's Lebron James was the MVP way more than
four times in the NBA. So because people has done that, keep that same energy. What's been a big deal is being the best player on the best team. And not only is Shay the best player on the best team, but he's playing at such an elite level. It ain't like he the best player on a even team and like he a little better. He's like he is one of the best players in the NBA and has taken that team higher. So in saying that, just with what MVP has meant, with what the MVP has done, I
think it's gonna look crazy in ten years. You put those numbers next to each other and be like Jokis didn't win. But in saying that, I gotta go with SGA got you.
SGA, to your point, defensive presence underrated this year. Still absolutely Junker the first center to average a triple double and for an entire series season.
I mean, I like to see.
Co MVPs just so when we go back to history, people can go back and see the type of year that both of these players were having and how they were going back and forth in this climb for.
The MVP race.
But if I have to side about I would side to SGA because I watched this fan play defense. I watched him leaders team, and to your point, he is just on a high, high level of frequency, and he's pulled a lot of these talented guys on this team up to his level right playing at a level above.
I think one of the most underrated things about the year SGA had is they spent an extended period of time this year with no center. They had Harden's Thin was out, Chet was out, and Jalen with the bigger Jalen Williams was out. They were out there running five guards and still win a game. That's crazy, That is extremely impressive, and I just think another thing that kind of gives SG he ate a boot. So even when things weren't ideal, he still found a way to lead
his teams to win nothing. You know that that has that says a lot. I agree. I totally agree Most improved player? Who you got for most improved? Dyson Daniels, Austin Reeves. I would say Austin Reeves. A lot of people saying Kay Cunningham.
Well, Kate Cunningham is too good and he was so good last year that he's too good to be most improved. We expect that right out of Kate, and Kate expect that out of himself, and he's just living into his magic. He got the All Star accolades, and so what's next for him is, you know, consistent All Stars. When you look at somebody like a Dyson Daniel coming out the G League and coming out of nowhere to make a name for himself, then you look at an Austin Reeves,
who was he a second round pink or undrafted? I think he was undrafted right making a name for himself to stay on the Lakers, to then being a fan favorite off the bench, now being a bona fide NBA star he has, he's real and he became a real household name and somebody you gotta recognize this year and went from fifteen to twenty points a game with Lebron with Luca still in the mix. So I would give it to Austin Reeves.
And when it wasn't Luca ad ad and he was cracking ad. Yeah, absolutely, I gotta go with Austin Reeves as well. I think Dyson Danigels is right there, k cunning him no chance. Like you said, CA's way too good. He'd been way too good for this award.
And shout out to Dyson Daniels for making a name for himself the work he put in like he making, he making Atlanta have somebody else to talk about besides what chan Young is doing.
Absolutely, I think. But when I look at Austin Reeves, he's been arguably the best third option in in basketball and when called up on and presented the opportunity, he's been an incredible two. Yeah, I went caught upon. And so to go from undrafted to that fifteen points to twenty points, there's a big difference in the NBA have averaged fifteen points to twenty points. Like you may look at that and be like, oh, that's only five points.
A fifteen point a night guy off night is six Yes, a twenty point a night guy off night at sixteen yeap fifteen sixteen. To put into a perspective for you, the jump that Austin Reeves has made to jump your average from fifteen points twenty points, that is that's also the difference in like someone making fifteen million dollars a year and someone making thirty five million dollars a year, Like that is a drastic jump. And obviously we know he can pass the ball to he rebounds the ball.
You know, I think, uh, I gotta go with Austin Reeves like you said, shout out to Dyce and Dames. I think what he's done is incredible. Uh. To see him playing at the level playing that is great. But I gotta go with Austin Reeves. And I did not know JJ Reddick was campaigning for Austin Reeves when he said the awards is the high pick of war. That was a lottery what he said, lottery pick that's now on a high contract that finally had. It was a campaign.
It was a campaign. I didn't realize if JJ you slid that one in, But you got a point, my brother.
He definitely made up made people think about the vote.
Uh, Rookie of the Year. Easy, Stephane Castle, no question, ste Fine Castle, no question? Like that kid he next up, no question, steph Fione Castle. Easy. We're gonna look back at this. Step Fan Castle is gonna be a star. And of course he should have won Rookie of the Year. He gonna be next to Winby and San Antonio dynamic duo, back to back Rookie of the years, and it's all gonna make sense. But Stephanion Castle, no question, is Rookie
of the Year. And I'm gonna tell you this, Stephan Castle when he improved that jump shot, and I say win because I know he will. Because he's a willing cheer. One of the biggest keys about being being learning to shoot the ball with consistency is being a willing shooter. And he is willing no matter how many he missing a row, he raising up taking that next one. And I love that attitude. That kid is gonna be a star. I'm looking forward to a Rookie of the Year. Congrats,
young fella. It should be yours in the back. We got coach of the year, some say Kenny Atkinson. The Cavs were forty eight and thirty four in twenty three. Twenty four increased that to sixty three wins, possibly sixty four. Number one seed in the East. You got email you Doka forty one and forty one last season, number eleven in the Western Conference standards. Fast forward to twenty twenty five, they have fifty two wins, could be fifty three, could
have been fifty five. They've kind of bombed the last couple of games, like nonetheless, Emai Udoka has to be in the running. And then JB. Bickerstaff fourteen wins to forty four wins. Damn first season of coaching this team. He was the coach of the team that the Calves. Who Kenny Atkinson has now bumped up fifteen wins to sixty three. Who you got those three guys? Coach of the year. Is this Kenny Atkinson first year with the Cavs.
This is Kenny Atkins's first year. He was with the Doves last year.
That's crazy. And this JV vickerstaff first year with Detroit.
This is his first year.
Ah, this is a hell of us storyline. And what I would do is I would honor them both. This would be a cold Coach of the Year. You gotta do code Coach of the Year like I would give I would give two awards out because it's just if it has to be one person, cool, But I don't think it should just be one.
One guy went from eleven to two.
That's crazy to give them all an the war, But you cannot do that. I mean, damn, that's too hard. If if if I'm voting, I don't know, that's too tough, dude, that's tough.
They all matter.
Like what JB did taking Detroit from nothing to something or a playoff team, what he may did from last year, taking them to the two seed, showing a lot of promise. You know, people thought that Houston would have a team that's going to be in the playoffs, so you know, he over exceeded expectations. And then Kenny Akinson came in and took over a job from a team and you know, damn there got them twenty more wins than what they had the year before and the number one seed in
the East. So if I have to give the award, I would probably it probably should go to Kenny Akinson, with Shad b at a very very close second, almost a tie, and he may at a very very close second.
I respect that. I think. I think when you look at the system that Kenny has brought to that team, like they had talent already and he took that same talent and has turned that talent into what it should be, I think it's hard not to go with Kenny. I also think he turned Evan Mobley into a star. And when I say turned Evin Mobley into a star, I understand that I'm not saying Kenny Atkinson turned Evan Mobley has worked his ass off to become He unleashed the star.
He put him in position to reach who he's supposed to become, which is a star in the NBA. And Evan Mobley's had an incredible year on both sides of the ball. He will be an all NBA performer. Evan Mobley. I think when you look at getting Darius Garland back to all star form, like Darius Garland was the lost man last year, Like Darius Garland was on his way out of Cleveland, it was all going wrong. It looked like he had popped for a year or two and
it was going the wrong way. Kenny comes in, push that confidence back into him, put him in the system where he can thrive in And so I think when you're looking at that, on top of winning sixty four games, I gotta go Kenny Akinson. I think that's jbs incredible to go from fourteen to forty four wins. I think it's incredible he may to go from eleven. I'm a big fan of e May. Just the attitude that he
may give his teams is crazy. Played against some of the NBA finals, He's going to Houston and taking a joke of a team after James Harden to the second seed in the West, brought an attitude stepped up and said the guys that he wanted. Bringing in Frev and Vleet as a free agent was huge, you know what I'm saying. Like bringing in a veteran presence like Jeff
Green was huge, you know. And these are all things that I May Udoka's point out of saying, no, I need this, and so bringing it Dylan Brooks free agency, you know, people was off Dylan Brooks. Grizzlies off Dylan Brooks. He like, YO, bring him over here, huge, you know what I'm saying. So what e May's done has been incredible and I think he right up there and deserving. But I think I gotta go Kenny Atkinson on this one as well.
Awesome sixth Man of the Year. Oh, Peyton Pritcher, That's what we got. Six Man of the year. You got Peyton Pritcher or Malik Beasley. I got Payton Pritch's that's easy, man. The way he has improved. I how to put Peyton Pritcher up there also for most improved, just to put him in that category. But talking about energy, you know, fire and a difference maker for Boston off the bench and another leader. They found another leader. They found another
go to guy, which is crazy. And then not to discount what the season that Malik Beasley has had because he's been another part of that Piston team that forty four at fourteen to forty four win turnaround, and he's been a great compliment and reliable source for k cunning In. And so three hundred and twelve threes this season a
Piston record. Shout out to Malik Beasley. But when we're talking about six man and a difference maker and a game changing somebody's coming in and changing the game, I gotta go to with Peyton Pritcher.
I think Peyton Pritcher has been incredible. He really increased his points from nine to fourteen, which is a big jump, you know. I think he's had a great year two hundred and fifty one may threes, great year on a great team, won sixty games. But I gotta go with Malik Beasley on this. Malik Beasley has found a new home three hundred and twelve threes this season. I think both of these guys shoot threes. Malie Besy's averaging sixteen points off the bench, so he's winning in both of
those categories, and their team is winning. I think when you can look at record, but obviously Boston's going to have a much better record than Detroit. They have a much better team than Detroit. But I gotta go with Malie Beasley on this one. Hit your three, hit, your shimmy player, your hip dance, or whatever it is. But I think Malie Beasley is deserving. I think he should get it. I think he's earned it. That's what I'm rolling with there.
It is all right, last, but not least defensive Player of the Year. I will give you the floor because you know where my vote is going. What do you want to say about Defensive Player of the Year. It's the last one?
Oh man, I think uh putting it back. I think in the bag yours true. That's who I'm rocking with, you know, I think, listen, I think Evan Mobley has had a great year. Dyson Daniels has had a great year. I think you know, Zoo Bosh has had a great year. I think, you know, all those guys had a great year. I ain't taking nothing away from him, and I'll see him on first team all Defense. But I think DP O wash should go to yours truly. I'll take that. Yeah, I got it.
I gotta rock with you bro, you've been you know we talk about the season is solid, consistent, and you just military. You've had amazing moments when you look at team defense and team awareness and having that anchor. I mean, you're the guy and look at look at the Warrior numbers. So shout out to you. Be my pick, give me my pick all year. Man, let's lock in, let's go dumb nation. Yeah, this is it. This is the last season. This is the last season of the game. Man on
the last game of the season. So let's get that defensive Yeah, one more, one more defensive showcase, and let's put that put that trophy in the bag.
Come on, now, I appreciate you, my dog, I hope. So, but nonetheless, let's get this win tomorrow. We need you to you know what I'm saying, getting these playoffs. That is a rap from this episode of The Draymond Green Show in the last show of the regular season of twenty twenty five. For all you guys out there in this NBA, for all you trainers out there, coaches out there, front office, workers, community relations, public relations, NBA League office,
NBA PA referees, everybody, job well done. It's a well old machine that continues to get better. Adam Silver, everybody who had a hand in making this season what it is. Job well done. Let's make these playoffs great. Keep it pushing until next time. That's a rap from this episode of The Draymond Green Show with the legend Baron Davis BD.
My dog out and don't forget to follow us on all social media at the Draymond Show and we out
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