Draymond Green’s continued anger over being drafted in the second round of the 2012 NBA Draft is amusing to Andrew Nicholson, a player chosen before him.
Green, a star forward for the Golden State Warriors, made the angry remarks during a recent appearance on Paul George’s podcast and directed his ire at Nicholson.
“This is not to throw salt at anybody,” Green said. “But Andrew Nicholson was drafted over me at like [No.] 19. … At the time y’all are comparing us as big men who can play back to the basket, but I’m looking at this dude and number one, he doesn’t even look like a basketball player. I always tell people, when it comes to winning, half the battle is looking like a basketball player. When you’re on a team and you look at the other side of the floor and if you see guys that don’t look like basketball players, you automatically lose respect. And when you lose respect for those guys, you do things to them in the game that you otherwise wouldn’t have done if you respected that guy.
“So that’s half the battle. … He’s weird body shaped, he walks like this and talks like this, there’s no way that this guy is going to be better than me at basketball. I just don’t see it. So that was one that really, really, really pissed me off. There are several others that went before me, but that was one where I’m like we’re getting compared, I worked out against him a couple of times and I didn’t get drafted [before him].”
Nicholson then appeared on the “Hip Hop Hoops” podcast and was at a loss to understand why Green is still focused on him 11 years later. He sees it as “insecurity” on Green’s end.
Andrew Nicholson addresses the Draymond Green comments 👀
“I didn’t know he was thinking about me for the last 11 years. I wasn’t thinking about him to be honest…”
Hip Hop Hoops | @nicholaf44 @Iggythetruth pic.twitter.com/zjGAFNB9VW
— Tidal League (@TidalLeague) July 21, 2023
In that 2012 draft, Nicholson was selected in the first round by the Orlando Magic out of St. Bonaventure University. Over his five seasons in the league, Nicholson averaged 6.0 points and 3.0 rebounds per game.
With the 35th pick in 2012, the Warriors then selected Green out of Michigan State University. Over his career, Green has averaged 8.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.0 block per game.
Combined with other Warriors superstars, Green has also been a part of four NBA title teams with the Warriors and is destined for a spot in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Despite those accomplishments, it’s clear that Green has never been able to let go of the anger of being overlooked. Yet, his focus on Nicholson is odd, considering other players chosen ahead of him had much shorter NBA careers.
Green’s anger is something that will remain part of his legacy, with his proclivity for technical fouls one example of that emotional flaw. In some instances, that anger has been costly to Green and the Warriors.
The most notable example came during the 2016 NBA Finals, when his anger toward LeBron James resulted in a one-game suspension. That decision came after a series of postseason technical fouls assessed to Green.
At the time of Green’s suspension, the Warriors led the Cleveland Cavaliers 3-1 in the best-of-seven series. The Warriors lost Game 5 without Green and then dropped the final two games, watching their opportunity for a second straight title disappear.
More recently, Green’s punch of now-former teammate Jordan Poole last year was also a source of controversy. In the aftermath of that incident, Green was fined by the Warriors but not suspended.
Green’s anger may have been cathartic for him, though Nicholson’s bemused response may end up upsetting him again. For now, Nicholson has no real interest in revisiting the past, unlike Green.
