“I catch a lot of flak…for the way I ride for Bron” – Draymond Green clarifies his relation with LeBron James & Steph Curry

Draymond Green and LeBron James have a storied rivalry. James has matched up with Green and the Golden State Warriors four times in the NBA Finals, sparking a serious rivalry. Despite that, Green has praised James for his play on the court and his work off the court.

That respect and admiration for James has angered quite a few Golden State fans over the years, with many adamant that the two should dislike one another. In addition, many believe that the time Green spends praising James should be spent praising Steph Curry.

Of course, that hasn't deterred Green from giving James his credit over the years. During a recent episode of "The Draymond Green Show," alongside Tristan Thompson, the four-time NBA champion spoke about his respect for James:

"I catch a lot of flak for the way I ride for Bron, and you know, people say like, 'Oh, man, you said this about LeBron, that's disrespectful to Steph' and it's like actually the love that I got for Steph and how I ride for Steph shows how I ride for Steph, and Steph know I got the love.

"Me giving credit to LeBron or supporting LeBron or being happy for LeBron, that doesn't dim Steph light, you know, I always think about it and tell people like, that's your losing-ass mentality that you think if I go say something about LeBron James that's positive that's dimming Steph's light. That's not dimming Steph's light."

You can see his comments above beginning shortly after the 53-minute mark.

A two-way street: LeBron James giving Draymond Green and the Warriors respect

The Golden State Warriors have fielded their own fair share of criticism over the years for a high volume of 3-pointers, and for changing the NBA as we know it. With the 3-point shot more popular than ever before, many aren't happy with the Warriors.

According to James, however, Steph Curry is a once-in-a-lifetime player who deserves respect for changing the game. In October of 2021 he gave Curry his flowers in a news conference as Curry approached the record for most 3-pointers in NBA history:

"We're all witnesses to what Steph Curry has done in his career and the way that he's changed the game. He's a once-in-a-lifetime basketball player. More importantly, just a great dude. I wish I could be there to congratulate him. I'll be one of the guys in our league that will congratulate him socially."

When reflecting on his win over the 73-9 Golden State Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals, LeBron believes that the 2015-16 Warriors were the greatest of all time. In his eyes, defeating them cemented his place as the greatest player of all time.

"Everybody was talking about how they were the greatest team of all time, they were the greatest team ever assembled, and for us to come back, the way we came back in that fashion, I was like ... you did something special," James said.

You can see his comments in the video below.

LeBron is the 🐐, according to LeBron.

He explains why in the latest episode of “More Than An Athlete,” now available on E+: es.pn/2F0rgLC https://t.co/AoAGBmTZYn