OAKLAND–After missing the last five games with a shoulder injury, Warriors’ forward Draymond Green knew it would take awhile for him to hit his stride when he finally did return to the floor.
On Friday night, Green played for the first time in nearly two weeks, and on his first attempt from the floor, Golden State’s emotional leader drilled a three-pointer. Hitting the first shot after coming back from an injury? That’s a good feeling. Hitting it against your old coach? Even better.
“It’s always good to hit a three against Luke (Walton),” Green said. “It’s not against anyone on the court, it’s all against Luke. That was fun, but obviously to see the first shot go, it kind of relieves some pressure. You’re not thinking about every shot from that point on. So it was good to see that one and my shoulder felt great. I’ve just got to get my strength back but other than that it felt really good.”
Walton worked for the Warriors from 2014-2016, and throughout his time as a Warriors’ assistant and as the team’s interim head coach, he developed a strong relationship with Green. Green’s willingness to take shots from beyond the arc is due in large part to Walton’s confidence in the forward, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Green takes pride in knocking down triples against the second-year Lakers’ head coach.
After the Warriors’ 113-106 victory, Green revealed he likes talking trash to Walton when he’s on the floor, and admitted he knows it bothers Walton that he can’t do much about it.
“It’s fun, Luke’s a guy I have the utmost respect for,” Green said. “I love him like a brother. Just talking to him, knowing there’s not much he can really do. So it’s kind of unfair. But just, obviously I know how smart Luke is, I know how competitive he is, so it’s always fun looking over there and going back and forth with him. He got those boys playing hard and like I said, they’re going to be a force to be reckoned with.”
In his first game back, Green finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists in just 30 minutes on the floor. His best stat of the night? One line Walton doesn’t have a comeback for.
“I got him his job,” Green said. “I told him, ‘I got you your job, you better tell your guys over there.’”