Since Green joined the Warriors in 2012-13, he has worked together here for 11 seasons with the Splash Brothers.
Everyone knows that the NBA is a commercial league and the highest level of basketball in the world, and there are only more than 400 people who can register to play here, and only three-quarters of them can play. They are almost the 400 most skilled basketball in the world, but if they slack off or get older, they will soon be abandoned by the league.
In addition, any problem such as salary negotiations, becoming a trade chip for the team, declining players' competitive status, and players dissatisfied with the current situation of the team can be a reason why players cannot stay on a team for long.
So it's not easy for a player to stay on a team for 11 years, and it's even better for three people to be able to overlap and interweave time together for 11 years! Looking at the history of the NBA, perhaps only the Spurs' GDP combination has done, but in the end, the French sports car "overturned" and ran to Charlotte, not like the stone Buddha and Manu.
Curry recently celebrated his 35th birthday, and as a post-80s player, even with a baby face, he has to admit that he is a veteran. But if you look at his average stats (29.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, 6.4 assists, shooting 49.7% from the field, 42.8% from three-point range, 91.1% from the free-throw line), he is a member of the 180 club with a little effort, and if it weren't for the team's struggle this season, just looking at his personal stats, you can say that he is fully capable of competing for the third regular season MVP of his career.
But the years have also dealt Curry a painful blow, in order to reduce the invasion of injuries on himself, Curry actually began to gain muscle two or three seasons ago to increase his ability to fight on the court and resist injury risks. However, Curry missed 18 games last season due to injury, and this season he has missed a total of 26 games due to two different injuries, and since the 16-17 season, Curry has not played more than 70 games in a regular season, and it is clear that the frequent occurrence of injuries due to age has become an inescapable topic. In addition, even if the Warriors have planned to take Curry to rest in some back-to-back games, it is still because of the team's struggling regular season record that the 35-year-old veteran does not dare to rest more, and the 34.9 minutes per game this season is a new high in Curry's nearly 9 seasons!
The reason why fans like Curry is that in addition to his magical shooting ability, he also has his humble and gentlemanly playing style on the court and the love and happy family with his childhood sweetheart off the court. The playing action is clean, obeying the never-ending no-ball running arranged by the coach on the field, and as the team boss, he is willing to divide the ball between Green and Poole. Many times Curry's selflessness will also make fans' scalps numb, such as the key game between the home court and the Timberwolves, Green's fatal mistakes, Poole's nonsensical long-range shots and passing errors, when even Curry's fans will shout angrily in front of the screen: "Curry, you are more alone!" How good it is to keep that damn ball in your own hands. But if you are familiar with Curry, you will know that even if he was a little frustrated when he saw his teammates' mistakes, he would not blame his teammates afterwards, this is the responsibility of the team boss, winning and losing together.
When the 33-year-old Green gives him close-ups every time, we will find that the young player who was once promoted by Cole to the main force is already a white-bearded uncle. Even if he is a father of three children like Curry, he is still passionate like a 20-year-old on the court, and he will also be swayed by his emotions. For example, in the game with the Pelicans, his unnecessary excessive foul on the Warblers and the subsequent reaction made him eat his 17th technical foul of the season, and then had a physical altercation with Jones, fortunately, Cole understood that he did not want him to be blown again, even if Green complained about him when he was substituted, Kerr who knew him also endured everything silently, of course, the general manager of the team on the sidelines, Miles, is someone Green respects very much, he calmed Green's emotions, I think at that moment he told Dream Chaser: "We can't be on the court without you, Control your emotions, calm yourself down, and help your best brothers Curry and Klay with your defense and passing. ”
If Green is disliked by the other 29 teams in the league, Warriors fans should fully support him, although he sometimes hurts the team because of his lack of calm and excessive emotion (such as the suspension of the 2016 Finals G5), but without chasing dreams, the Warriors cannot win four championships in the past decade. With a height of less than 2 meters, he played the number five position in hundreds of crucial games for the team, using his body to resist the opponent's tall interior lineman who was half a head or even a head taller than himself, guarding the team's penalty area. At the same time, it will also use its own tandem and solid blocking to always find the best shot for the splash brothers.
What is even more precious is that he has become the "B side" of Curry, and everyone knows that Curry will not have too much command of teammates on the court, which is determined by his character. But Green takes this point perfectly, he will inspire himself with his passion and never-ending mouth, he will fight with the referee, he will also clash with the opponent, but he is the metronome of the Warriors, although sometimes he will do too much, but most of the time his behavior can awaken teammates who have been knocked out on the court, and can also defend the rights and interests of the team by arguing for reason. Although he will be disliked by the outside world and fans of other teams, how can Warriors players and Warriors fans not love Drummond Green like this.
Klay Thompson, who is also a 33-year-old middle-aged uncle, is still the fifth diamond king of one person and one dog. He didn't have his love and children early like Curry and Green. Obviously, their private intersection is not frequent, but this does not affect their friendship, just like Klay has been absent for two and a half years due to two and a half major injuries in a row, Curry has spoken out to defend his good brother more than once, and he also rarely told team management that if they move the idea of trading Klay, they must inform him as soon as possible. Many stars are jealous of their reputation for interfering in team trades, but Curry's willingness to do so for Klay shows the depth of camaraderie.
Curry will be mad because of Poole's unreasonable shots at certain moments, and even throw braces on the court to vent his anger and be ejected, but if Klay does this, Green will not complain, and Curry will not be frustrated, this is a tacit understanding of more than ten years together, because they know that their good brother is capable of leading the team to victory. Just like the 2016 Western Conference Final G6, when the whole team was desperate and confused, it was Clever's light and even the team owner who paid homage to him in the player tunnel after the game. So it was this unconditional trust and support that brought back Klay, who returned in the middle and late stages of last season, to win the trio's fourth championship trophy in 10 years, along with Curry and Green.
Klay will most likely become the league's three-point king this season, and although his three-point shooting percentage hovered around 20% at the beginning of the season, he is still confident and capable of returning his three-point shooting rate to more than 40% during the season. During the time when Curry was out due to injury, Warriors fans really felt that Klay used his offense and unreasonable three-point to keep the team's record in the playoffs, and although his defense was not the same because of age and injury, he was still Curry's most trusted partner.
Although Kerr has been tweaking the team's starting lineup and Wiggins' return is still far away, die-hard Warriors fans still believe that as long as they have a healthy Curry, a healthy soup god, and a healthy dream, then this season's Warriors still have unlimited possibilities, and this is not empty words, it is the confidence and strength accumulated with four heavy championship trophies.
Although many people know that the Warriors' salary space will explode next season, and even if they can really defend their title, it may be difficult to keep all the championship-winning core lineups at the same time, but here we don't have to worry about the tomorrow that has not yet come, just enjoy the present moment wholeheartedly, and see how far the Warriors trio can lead the team in their 11th year together, of course, or that sentence wins and loses together.