It’s no secret that the Warriors, with their recent dominance, are celebrated in China. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson both traveled to China this offseason to meet with their fans, and Thompson specifically went viral as #ChinaKlay.
Draymond Green also reached out to his Chinese fans with an interview with Sina.com, a Chinese telecom company. The intro to the video is amazing, a corny slideshow complete with the Game of Thrones theme music. The interview itself is quite entertaining too.
In the interview, Draymond shows his appreciation for the Chinese Warriors fans out there. He shows off some elementary Chinese, and proclaims dim sum as his favorite Chinese food. When Green describes his first trip to China, he says he was so surprised by the numbers and pure passion of the Warriors fans in China he had previously not known about.
Draymond also talks about how close-knit this Warriors team is. During the 2017 playoffs, he thought the team was more focused on its goal of winning a championship than anything he’s ever seen before. It’s obvious that the team is close on a personal level too: when the video of Klay botching a dunk in China went viral this summer, the team groupchat made fun of him relentlessly. When asked by the interviewer, Draymond declares Andre Iguodala as the most “loquacious” and most fashionable on the team, and David West as the “heartiest eater.”
Perhaps the most touching part of the interview is when Draymond talks about the birth of his son, Draymond Jr.. He says the wonder of seeing a part of him, and realizing “every decision that I make is not about me, it’s not for me,” has really put life in perspective.
Lastly, the interviewer asks a traditional Chinese question: if Steph Curry and Coach Kerr both fell in the water, who would you save first? Green hesitates, then chooses Steph. He’s one of Dray’s best friends, and, “He’ll help us continue to win.” He says Kerr would say to save Steph too!
After a tumultuous playoffs and offseason last year, Draymond’s past year has gone as well as possibly could be. He’s an NBA champion once again, the Defensive MVP, and a proud father of his infant son. Though many predicted he might be too fiery and aggressive for a cohesive locker room, he’s proved all the haters wrong. In fact, his drive and passion are what makes the Warriors so determined and tightly knit, on and off the court.