Draymond Green thoughtfully claps back at ‘underachieved' Kenyon Martin originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Draymond Green had had enough of Kenyon Martin’s disrespect.
Martin, a 15-year NBA veteran and co-host of “The Arena” podcast, has been taking several jabs at the Warriors forward for a while, but he most recently called Green “calculated.”
“I think what Draymond does is calculated,” Martin said. “Draymond ain’t do nothing to somebody who’s going to do something back to him.”
Now, it was Green’s time to finally fire back.
And per usual, he didn’t hold back.
On his “The Draymond Green Show” podcast, Green initially discussed how it was “disappointing” and “confusing’ that so much hate was coming from Martin, given that they’re both from Saginaw, Mich. Green shared that growing up, he also rooted for Martin for the sole fact that he was born in the same place that he was.
“The constant shots have been a little confusing to me because I don’t quite know where they came from,” Green said. “And you think someone who was the No. 1 pick that didn’t quite have the career that I’ve had, but playing similar roles in a sense, would appreciate it, would show more love — especially when you go back to a kid born and raised in Saginaw, you think it’ll be a little more love. So it’s a little disappointing to see the constant shots. I just always thought it would be a little more love than that.
“But when you were the No. 1 pick and effectively underachieved, I guess that would be the reason why. To be the No. 1 pick and make the All-Star Game one time, most would say it’s probably an underachievement. Being that I was the 35th pick and made the All-Star Game four times. Defensive Player of the Year. Kenyon Martin was a defender. I think he would consider himself a good defender, [but] never quite reached the pinnacle of that when you talk Defensive Player of the Years, or the nine All-Defensive Teams that I have, and he has zero.
“It’s tough to sit in a space of like continuing to speak on my name and call my name out as if I underachieved or am underachieving. When I was just simply the 35th pick in the NBA draft, and somebody took a swing on me the second round and it just happened to work out to become one of the greatest players in franchise history.”
In 15 seasons, Martin made two NBA Finals appearances in the first two seasons of his career. He never secured the Larry O’Brien Trophy, however.
Green, of course, has made six trips to the Finals and won four championships with the Warriors over the last 13 years.
Accolades, stats and opinions aside, Green is most hurt by, again, the fact that these comments are coming from someone who grew up in a city like Saginaw, where he said there’s so much pride. And despite Martin’s critiques, Green said he won’t ever lose the respect of someone he once idolized as a young boy from Michigan.
“It’s just been a little weird and constant shots, and due to my respect and my love because of the connection that I once shared or still share from being born and raised in Saginaw, Michigan, I’ve held off on responding multiple times,” Green continued. “Because I just know when I respond to s–t, it takes on a whole other world, and guys get more publicity than they necessarily get when I don’t respond. So I’ve been kind of taking the path of like, I ain’t going to say nothing, because I don’t want to give people more publicity. But more importantly than the publicity, I try to stay in a space of respect.
“At the end of the day, I still have my beliefs, and my beliefs are, man, I’ve rooted for this guy for a very long time. I’m not a wishy-washy guy. I’m not just going to jump off the rails and attack him or be responding and get in these back-and-forths because of the respect and love that I had growing up as a kid.”
But it wouldn’t be a true Draymond Green “clap back” if it didn’t end with a little diss.
“The shots just keep coming. You continue to shoot at me, and you underachieved! One All-Star. Make no mistake about it, you are an All-Star. I give you that. A lot of people can’t say they’re an all-star, so I give you that, you’re a one-time All-Star. That’s beautiful. But you must admit, to be the player that you were and defender that you believed you were, and to not have like a single All-Defensive Second Team, it’s kind of an underachievement. No. 1 pick in the draft, a lot of people look for that guy to win Rookie of the Year. Did make the First Team All-Rookie, though, you know, that’s an accolade that I can’t say I have. I ain’t really played much as a rookie as the 35th pick, so I can’t say I made any All-Rookie team. So kudos. I tip my hat to that.
“But like I said, man, the shots, they’re just a little baffling to me. Because if I stopped playing basketball today, my career was better, way more impactful. I think Kenyon Martin lost in a couple NBA Finals. He got to sniff it. Didn’t quite get a taste, but got a little sniff of it. So your resume got to be a little better to just keep taking shots.”
In the end, it’s all love from Green.
But he had to get some things off his chest, first.
