This year's Western Conference finals have surely been illuminated by a stellar performance coming from Draymond Green. The Golden State Warriors star has had his hand in leading the squad toward what seems to be an inevitable fifth-straight appearance in the NBA Finals, stepping up majorly in the absence of Kevin Durant.
As he's averaged 16 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists per game, he's also showed a great improvement in his on-court demeanor, dropping significantly in his signature emotional outbursts and avoiding the technical fouls that plague his matches. Sunday, Green told reporters that such a change come from an unlikely source when he cited his November feud with KD. According to Green, Durant shared some words with him during that questionable time that he's kept with him ever since.
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"It's funny because when the stuff happened with Kevin earlier this year, he said, like, 'Everybody is giving you this pass like, Oh, that's just Draymond. He's emotional,'" Green said, via The Athletic. "But (Durant) said to me then, like, 'You're not emotional. I've seen you lock in and not say a word to the referees. I'm not giving you that pass.' That's kind of stuck with me."
He also went on to give credit to his son, noting that he realized his behavior on the court was bleeding into his child's own sportsmanship. "My son was shooting and flopping," he said. "I said you gotta stop watching the NBA."