The Warriors and Lakers matchup everyone hoped for is happening and Draymond Green wants the NBA world to appreciate it for all it is.
“Stop trying to turn the page on us so fast,” Green said. “Stop trying to turn the page on Bron [LeBron] so fast. We get so caught up in what’s the next thing that we don’t appreciate the current… For me and our guys, we’re gonna appreciate this every step of the way.”
Green, along with Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala faced LeBron James in the NBA Finals for four consecutive years (2015-2018) but the two franchises haven’t matched up in the playoffs since 1991.
“You’re talking about someone [who is an] ultimate competitor. LeBron is one of the ultimate competitors,” Green said. “Steph, Klay [Thompson], myself, Loon [Kevon Looney], ultimate competitors, so to have these opportunities, we don’t take for granted.
“Here we are eight years later from the first time we met in a playoffs series and and still playing at that level, that’s special. That says a lot about who you are as a pro…
“It’s gonna be epic. You got Steph, you got Bron doing it all over again. We’ve never played against the Lakers in a playoff series. We get to experience that.
In the first round of the playoffs, NBA players seem as though they are “trying to turn the page” on the veterans of the game.
Kings shooting guard Malik Monk referred to the Warriors as “old”, as did Dillon Brooks when talking trash about LeBron.
LeBron being a 20-season veteran showed Brooks how it was done on the court. 11-season vet Green and 13-season vet Curry also had the last laugh against Monk.
The NBA world will all have their eyes on the Golden State and Los Angeles when their Western Conference semifinals series starts on Tuesday, May 2 at 7:00PM PDT.