LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers will face off against the Golden State Warriors in one of the most highly anticipated second-round matchups in recent memory.
James and Warriors veteran Draymond Green have a fascinating history and have met in the NBA Finals on four separate occasions. At times, James’ fans considered Green to be a major villain in the league.
In more recent years, however, things have changed. Green has effused praise for James in recent seasons. In fact, a report indicated that Green asked permission from his team to be present when James became the NBA’s all-time leading scorer in a regular season game versus the Oklahoma City Thunder this season.
“Draymond Green asked his boss for permission to miss part of a business trip so he could watch one of his good friends reach a major milestone,” Marc J. Spears reported for Andscape.
“The friend, LeBron James. The milestone, the NBA career points record.
“With the Golden State Warriors fighting for their lives in the playoffs, coach Steve Kerr decided it was best for Green to be with the team the night before a game in Portland, Oregon, instead of going to Los Angeles to see James become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer on Feb. 7. Green understood and instead saluted his buddy on Twitter, calling James the greatest of all time with seven goat emojis.”
Though Green ended up having to miss the game, he did make sure to take to Twitter shortly after James accomplished the heroic feat to praise him.
This WILD!!! Unreal. Actually doing this like THE 🐐should!
— Draymond Green (@Money23Green) February 8, 2023
Congrats my brother @KingJames 🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐 not hearing anything they sayin!! #38388
— Draymond Green (@Money23Green) February 8, 2023
Green himself recounted how he asked permission to watch James break the record.
“Yeah, I was definitely going,” Green told Andscape. “It was a TNT game. I was doing the broadcast and Steve said, ‘I don’t think that’ll be great for our team. While we’re flying out on the road, you’re flying to LA, guys see that, guys see you on the TV calling the game. This is a big game for us against Portland.’ I said, ‘All right, respect. No problem. I’ll be there with my team.’
“I flew to Portland, we got to get a win and we’re here. So, it definitely was something that I wanted to be present for. It was just such a big moment in life and friendship. But there will be other big moments and we’ll create great memories.”
It’s been all positive vibes between the two players for the last couple of years, and there have even been rumors that Green wants to join forces with James this offseason. There have also been reports that the interest is mutual.
What makes all this fraternizing so fascinating is that the two will now be pit against one another in the playoffs for the first time since the 2018 NBA Finals. The two are competitors at the highest level despite the fact that they impact the game in very different ways.
There is little doubt that Green will spend a lot of the series trying to contain James on the defensive end. Only time will tell if that leads to the kinds of clashes the two have had in the past.
The relationship between these two NBA legends is just one of the many wrinkles to this series that is sure to make it an all-time event.
Tip for Game 1 of the series is scheduled for Tuesday evening at Chase Center.
