Steph Curry, Draymond Green reveal what has made their relationship work for 10 years
By Melissa Rohlin
FOX Sports NBA Writer
SAN FRANCISCO — When the Warriors selected Draymond Green in the 2012 NBA Draft, it was hard to imagine that he and Stephen Curry would still be playing together 10 seasons later.
Green at first didn't think they'd ever become friends.
"Not at all," Green told FOX Sports, flashing a wide grin. "We were just such polar opposites."
Five things you didn't know about Steph Curry and Draymond Green's friendship — Melissa Rohlin
Curry was baby-faced and understated, while Green was hot-tempered and loud. Curry, the son of an NBA player, grew up in an affluent neighborhood in Charlotte, North Carolina, while Green was raised below the poverty line by a single mother for much of his youth in Saginaw, Michigan. Curry was offensive-minded, while Green was a grind-it-out defender.
But it didn't take long for them to realize that their differences were wildly complementary.
"If there were two me's, it might not be as loud in the locker room as it needs to be at times," said Curry, now in his 13th season with Golden State. "And if there were two of him, nobody would know when to shut up. It's the perfect balance."
It's rare for superstars to stay together for a decade without fracturing, especially under the intense microscope of five straight NBA Finals appearances and three championships. Usually, egos collide, and the situation becomes untenable. But Curry and Green have survived every challenge.
Together, along with Klay Thompson, they're the longest tenured trio in the NBA.
Even when they missed the playoffs the past two seasons while Thompson was sidelined with ACL and Achilles injuries, Curry and Green leaned on each other instead of pointing fingers. They'd constantly talk on airplanes, in corners of gyms and in the locker room about how to turn things around.
The conversation had different iterations but the same theme.
"We can't f---ing keep doing this," Green told FOX Sports. "This ain't it, keep getting our ass kicked, this ain't it. So there was this mutual understanding of want and will to keep working and do whatever we needed to do to right the ship."
Those talks have more than paid off.
At 23-5, the Warriors have the best record in the league ahead of the much-anticipated return of Thompson in the next few weeks. At age 33, Curry is playing at an MVP level and on Tuesday broke the NBA all-time record for made 3-pointers. Meanwhile, Green is the front-runner for the Defensive Player of the Year award.
They both attribute the team's turnaround to the same thing: their deep love and appreciation for each other.
"If you take a startup company, and you have a few co-founders, more often than not, they either hate each other or love each other," Green told FOX Sports. "It's never, 'Oh, they're cool. They're OK.' It's either they're the f---ing best, and they absolutely love each other, or they absolutely hate each other, and you don't mention one around the other person. For us, it's obviously love. We love each other."
Their relationship developed slowly. Green likened it to peeling an onion. The more he learned about Curry, the more he started trusting him.
For Green, the defining moment in their friendship came in November 2018, after he unleashed a verbal tirade at then-teammate Kevin Durant during a game in Los Angeles against the Clippers. Durant barked at Green for not passing him the ball for a potential game-winning shot, and Green responded by cursing at Durant and saying he was going to leave in free agency, so he didn't matter.
Cameras caught much of the ugly exchange, which continued in the locker room after the game. Green was suspended for one game without pay by the Warriors, and many questioned whether this incident would blow up their season.
When the team returned to Oakland, Curry, who had remained in the Bay Area to rehabilitate a strained groin, met Green at his house. They talked for two hours. Curry stayed so long that he missed his pregame nap and had to go straight to the arena.
"No need to get into all of the details of the conversation," Green said. "But it was just that, like, at the end of the day, 'Were you wrong? I thought you could've handled it better.' OK. As someone who I respect and love, I own that. 'I thought you could've handled it better. But understand that no matter what, we're still with you.' I think that, for me, that's big."
It was a tense time for Green. He was waiting to hear if the Warriors were going to suspend him, a move some thought would signal that the team's brass was taking Durant's side.
Having Curry show up at his house really meant something to Green. Curry eventually had a conversation with Durant as well and is widely credited for helping the team get past the incident.
"Everyone's going to have their opinion on something, and that's totally fine," Green said. "But when it all boils down to: Do I have your back, or do I not? That's the most important thing. Just to know I'm going to come sit here with you for two hours, and we're going to talk through this, figure out what happens next. I'm going to tell you how I feel, you tell me how you feel, and we'll go from there.
"But to ultimately know, regardless, 'We've got your back, and we're with you no matter what.' I think that, for me, that was huge in that moment because you don't know. You can believe what you want. But the only way you know is to get that from someone. And he's never wavered from that. Not for one second."
Curry said his decision to go to Green's house was a no-brainer. He called it "the right thing to do." The entire sports world was talking about this incident, and he knew his friend was distraught.
Amid the turmoil, Curry wanted to be by Green's side.
"This wasn't going to define our year," Curry told FOX Sports. "It wasn't going to define him. He knew I had his back. He knew he could've done things better. We all probably could've done things better. Hindsight is 20-20. But it's kinda like family: When you have a blow up, you try to resolve it as fast as possible and don't let stuff fester."
Similarly for Curry, there have been several watershed moments throughout their friendship that stand out to him.
There was the time Curry's wife, Ayesha, threw him a surprise 30th birthday party, and Green pulled him aside for a moment alone.
In a quiet space away from the large crowd and blaring music, Green handed Curry a package. It contained five select wines and a note in which Green detailed how much he respects Curry as a man, husband and father.
It deeply touched Curry.
Until that moment, it was well-established how much they meant to each other on the court. And it was obvious that their relationship extended beyond the game, but having that sentiment concretely expressed felt different.
"He shared some words on that front that we hadn't before," Curry told FOX Sports. "Winning and basketball was amazing, and you wouldn't trade that experience for anything. But [the note was about] the influence of how we live our lives and what's important off the court and us growing into family men kinda on the same timeline. That's the stuff we'll talk about forever. That means a lot."
Curry recalled another example that stands out. It was when he, his wife and his parents went to a Carolina Panthers game with Green and Warriors coach Steve Kerr — and a fan started messing with the Currys.
Green intervened by launching food at the trash-talker. Ever since, he has been known as the Curry family protector.
"I guess he might've felt like we were on the court when a fan started yelling at my mom," Curry said. "I started yelling at [the fan]. Next thing I know, I just see some grapes flying over my shoulder at the dude."
Green's feistiness has long been celebrated by the Warriors.
He's known as the heart and soul of the team. When his teammates see him sacrificing his body and diving for every loose ball, how can they not give 100 percent, too? And if someone lacks focus, Green is the one who will deliver a stirring speech.
But there are two sides to that coin. Sometimes Green takes things too far. Sometimes his emotions get the best of him. Sometimes he loses control.
Curry is the one who knows how to kink the hose and stop the deluge.
When Green was ready to fight Kerr during halftime of a game against Oklahoma City in 2016, Curry held him back. Two years later, as mentioned, Curry was the one who smoothed things over between Green and Durant, enabling the team to compete for its fourth championship in five years.
"Steph, to his credit, is a stabilizing force for Draymond," Kerr told FOX Sports. "One of the reasons they're so good together is that Steph appreciates Draymond's fire and embraces it. And he has a very calming effect on Draymond and on the team. So in some ways, they're kind of the yin and the yang, and they lead our team accordingly."
Curry and Green have been able to resolve every issue they've encountered over the past decade because they know how to talk to each other. Moments that would have broken other teams apart brought them closer together.
For example, Curry could have blamed Green for the Warriors' collapse in the 2016 NBA Finals after Green swiped LeBron James in the groin, leading to a Game 5 suspension. The Warriors went on to blow a 3-1 series lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers following Golden State's record-setting 73-9 regular season. It was a stunning collapse.
But Curry knows the Warriors would have never been in that position if it weren't for Green, who is one of the best defenders in the world. Instead of turning on each other, they went back to the drawing board and won two straight NBA titles against the Cavaliers in 2017 and 2018.
There's a certain understanding among the superstars. Green is going to be Green. And Curry is going to be Curry. They've learned to truly accept each other, quickly forgive mistakes and speak to each other in ways that resonate.
"When he says something to me or I say something to him, there's a different connection there," Curry said. "There's a different level of respect and trust, even if it might be different perspectives. I think that's a big part of what we have. He can trust what I'm saying is coming with the best intentions — but also with the hope it makes all of us better."
They also know when not to listen to each other.
Before the Warriors became a super team and before Curry redefined what it meant to take a good shot, Green would sometimes become frustrated when Curry launched the ball from outer space.
There were many times during their early years when Kerr would watch Green yell at Curry for his seemingly ridiculous shot selection.
"Steph would just nod his head and say, 'Yeah, OK,'" Kerr said. "And then pull up from 35 again and shoot it anyway. So, eventually, Draymond just figured it out, like I did, that every shot is a good shot for Steph."
Curry didn't get offended. He didn't scream back. He responded by showing Green that he could make those shots. It disarmed Green, which, in turn, gave Curry the space he needed to develop into the greatest shooter of all time.
The thing about Green and Curry is that even though they're incredibly different, they're actually more similar than you'd think.
They both know what it feels like to be undervalued and to have to prove themselves. They're both very loyal. And they're both deeply competitive. For Curry, though, his simmering fire is often disguised by a demure smile and an unflappable quietude.
"They're two of the greatest competitors I've ever seen," Kerr told FOX Sports. "Everyone knows that about Draymond. But people don't really understand what a competitor Steph is. They just see all of the celebration and the skill and the joy, and they think, 'Oh, he loves the game.'
"He hates to lose. He is a vicious competitor. And Draymond is obviously that. So I think that bonds them quite a bit."
Over the years, Green and Curry became brothers. They realized they had each other's backs. They understood each other. And they knew they were truly good for each other.
It's the only way this could've worked.
After all, they've spent more time together over the past decade than with their own families. In addition to the nine-plus regular seasons, Curry and Green have played an extra 105 postseason games together, or the equivalent of an entire 82-game regular season and another quarter of one.
During that time, they not only learned how to throw the perfect pass to the other and how to set the most efficient screens, but they also learned who each other is as a person.
Green says he knows all of Curry's preferences, from music to food.
"If it's up to him in the morning, he would want a waffle," Green said. "He loves waffles. He loves popcorn. Absolutely loves chicken wings. If you're around someone for 10 years, shame on you if you can't figure those things out."
Curry added that when they're not together, it almost feels a bit strange.
During the offseason, Curry pours his time into his wife, his three children and honing his craft. But after seeing Green every day for nine months, there's a hole when they're apart.
"There's not much time you actually spend together in the offseason, so you almost kind of miss it," Curry said. "It's like you've got two different families. It's weird."
That synergy is what has enabled the Warriors to claw their way back to the top of the league. They did it more quickly than anyone thought possible after a couple of rocky seasons.
Curry missed all but five games in 2019-20 because of a broken left hand, and Green acknowledged that he was "checked out" without him, so that season was a wash.
Last season was rough for the Warriors, who made the NBA play-in tournament but were eliminated by the Memphis Grizzlies in a 117-112 overtime loss. Despite that disappointment, the Warriors won 15 of their last 20 games, and in that stretch, they had the top-rated defense in the league.
That got things rolling once again.
"We went into the offseason with our confidence back," Kerr said. "It was a team-wide thing, but it all revolved around Steph and Draymond. They felt it, too. They knew, ‘OK, we can do this again.’"
This season, the Curry-Green show is as beautiful as ever.
They have the most fluid pick-and-roll in the league. Green knows how to open up the floor for Curry. And Curry knows he wouldn't be able to splash shots from just about anywhere on the court if Green weren't setting hard screens, grabbing rebounds and getting steals.
They unleash the best parts of each other's games. They're each other's perfect counterbalance, in terms of both their skills and their personalities. Without each other, they both know they simply wouldn't be as good.
"Do I think I would have had the success without him? No," Green said. "And I don't think he would've had the success that he's had without me. Do I think we both would've had success? Absolutely.
"We're both equally as driven, we both are winners, we're competitive. When you're a winner, when you're a competitor, you're going to find a way to win. So I don't have doubt in my mind that we would've found success. But I don't think for either one of us, it would've been at the level that it is. I truly in my heart believe that."
For Curry, there was never any doubt that the Warriors would be back atop the league — not when he and Green are still together. There are many superstar combinations in the NBA. But Curry believes none compares to his partnership with Green in the most important aspect of the game.
"You could argue who fits what and how we stack up talent-wise and all of that, but nobody can mess with us in terms of our competitive fire and that dog that's in us," Curry said. "It looks different, it comes out different — but we both want to win so bad, and that's carried us through everything."
So has their friendship.
Ten years together is an eternity in NBA time. Steph Curry and Draymond Green have been on countless trips, shared so many meals, so many laughs, so many tears. They've gone to battle with each other on the court and supported each other off of it.
They've won, and they've lost. They've been atop the league and in its cellar. They've watched each other grow from 20-something-year-olds into mature family men.
And through it all, they've been each other's greatest advocates.
"If not, it doesn't go 10 years," Green said. "It just doesn't."
Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the league for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter @melissarohlin.
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