The last few offseasons have looked all the same for the Golden State Warriors. Filled with more questions than answers, this once-mighty franchise is barely hanging on to the last embers of a dynasty that time, age and better competition have burned to the ground.
Their sharpshooting savant, Steph Curry, is already 38 and has proven to be injury-prone over the last two seasons. The man the Warriors brought in to provide Curry with help, Jimmy Butler, suffered an ACL tear and will miss a significant portion of next season as his body recovers while his mind tries to regain its competitive edge.
Advertisement
The team also has to figure out which players they want to retain and which ones they can afford to let go. While head coach Steve Kerr has made up his mind to return for at least two seasons, the rest of the roster looks like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that have been strewn all over the floor. A big piece of that puzzle is power forward Draymond Green, who must decide whether to pick up his $27,678,571 player option or decline it to become a free agent.
He recently reflected on his 14-year stint with the Warriors, saying that no matter what happens this offseason, whether this season was his last ride in the Bay Area or not, he and the rest of the crew that won four titles in eight seasons will forever be connected at the hip.
Grateful to play for the Dubs
Picked in the second round of the 2012 NBA Draft, the 6’6″ forward turned himself into an integral component of the Warriors’ potent two-way attack by pouncing on the opportunity provided by David Lee‘s hamstring injury prior to the 2014-15 season and never looked back.
Advertisement
Through championship highs and controversial, often self-inflicted lows, the franchise remained loyal to Green, although this season proved the most difficult, as both parties had to come to terms with the reality that the fiery forward had finally lost a step or two, while still tolerating his occasional hot flashes, at both friends and foes alike.
“If it was the last ride, I look back on it, man, with such gratitude because, yes, we won championships. It’s great. But the journey was so special. What we were able to accomplish was so special,” Green relayed.
“I look back on being able to do it all in one place and I’m just like, ‘Wow. What a run. What a time it’s been,'” he continued. “The most beautiful part of it is that if this was the last ride, it’s still not the end. We’re connected until we die. Then somebody will keep it going. There’s no separating us. We are attached at the hip until it’s over.”
Advertisement
Green’s right. As brilliant as Curry has been and still is, he will always be connected to Green, as their indescribable rapport on the court is unlike any the NBA has ever seen. The same goes for Green’s relationship with Kerr.
Held it down for so long
Reaching elite status in the NBA is one thing; staying relevant for so long is another and many teams have struggled with it. The Milwaukee Bucks won it all in 2021 and, since then, have yet to return to the Eastern Conference Finals. The same goes for the Toronto Raptors, who won the title in 2019 and have yet to make strides to return to prominence.
Advertisement
Green knows how difficult it is to maintain this level of excellence, especially given how fluid the NBA is.
“One thing changes everything in the business that we’re in. One injury, one mishap, one missed shot, one missed defensive assignment — one thing can change everything,” Dray stated. “And yet somehow, we were able to hold it together this long. It’s so tough to do, but it says so much about who we are as people that we were able to hold it together for so long.”
“If it’s the last ride, I’m content with that because I know at no point did we cheat it. The whole time, we gave it everything we had.”
Advertisement
And no matter if you love or hate Green and the Warriors, everything Draymond says is a fact. We are talking about one of the greatest dynasties in NBA history.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on May 29, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.