Draymond Green once confronted Stephen Curry for shooting too much
Draymond and Curry have built a real bond over the past 10 years.
Kyle Terada - USA TODAY Sports
One of the reasons Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry is the greatest shooter of all time is that he receives so much support from Steve Kerr and his teammates. Curry has the green light to shoot — an opportunity he's taking for granted. Mind you, he's shooting at an elite 42.8 percent clip from deep for his career. However, Curry will inevitably have bad nights. It would be safe to assume that the coaching staff and his teammates would give him a free pass. However, there was a time when Draymond Green was fed up with Curry's struggles.
Green's reminder
In The Humble Giant podcast, Andre Iguodala shared a confrontation between Green and Curry. It was the 2016 Western Conference Semifinals against the Portland Trail Blazers. Curry returned to action after missing four games. As in the case for almost all NBA players, Curry struggled to shake off the cobwebs. Green, the Warriors' vocal leader, made it known to Curry that he is not the only player in the squad.
"He hadn't gotten into his groove yet, so he would be like 2-for-12 or whatever it is. And Draymond started (being) Draymond, saying 'hey man, this is the Warriors," Iguodala said. "This ain't just Steph Curry. It's the Steph Curry Show but it ain't just Steph Curry, it's the Warriors.'"
Andre Iguodala, The Humble Giant podcast
Iguodala, who's also an intrinsic part of the core, told Green to let Curry play his game. Iggy was confident that the Curry would eventually find his stroke.
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"I'm like, Draymond, chill man. Just let him shoot it out. (He said) 'Nah, G, we working hard out here too ...' I'm like just let him and Klay [Thompson] do their thing, especially him. That's like telling you don't go rove on defense," Iguodala added.
Stephs' response
However, Curry did not need Iguodala to protect him from Green. Part of what makes Curry great is that he a miss will never demotivate him to shoot again. As long as he's able, Curry will keep on shooting.
"Steph took another shot and he's going crazy," Iguodala said. "And you know how it is with Draymond, he could be going crazy and we look at each other like 'who are you yelling at?' Because you don't know ... He was like 'dang you took a bad shot,' and (Steph) looked at me and was like 'and I'm going to shoot it again!'"
We can say that Curry is the highlight of the story. But if you think about it, it was pretty daring for Green to confront the greatest shooter of all time. After all, the Warriors notched 73 wins during that season. It was largely due to Curry's 402 3-pointers in the regular season — a record that may never be broken.
Amid their success and stature, Green was not resting on his laurels. He knew of Curry's prowess as a shooter. But he wanted to remind everyone that basketball is a team game. As such, there are other options than the 3-point shot.
Perhaps this is what makes the Warriors great. The entire team gets along well on and off the court. This does not just mean that they support one another fully. It also means that they are not afraid to criticize each other.
