NBA stars Draymond Green and LeBron James share a unique friendship -- one so close, in fact, that the Warriors veteran was willing to miss part of a team trip in order to support the Los Angeles Lakers legend.
Green recently detailed to Andscape's Marc J. Spears that back in February, when James was on the cusp of breaking the all-time NBA scoring record, he asked his coach Steve Kerr if he could attend the Lakers' Feb. 7 game.
But Kerr cautioned against it.
“Yeah, I was definitely going,” Green told Spears. “It was a TNT game. I was doing the broadcast and Steve said, ‘I don’t think that’ll be great for our team. While we’re flying out on the road, you’re flying to LA, guys see that, guys see you on the TV calling the game. This is a big game for us against Portland.’ I said, ‘All right, respect. No problem. I’ll be there with my team.’
“I flew to Portland, we got to get a win and we’re here. So, it definitely was something that I wanted to be present for. It was just such a big moment in life and friendship. But there will be other big moments and we’ll create great memories.”
At the time, the Warriors were fighting to make sure they avoided the 2023 NBA play-in tournament and secured at least the Western Conference's No. 6 seed. They day after James surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most career points in NBA history in Los Angeles, the Warriors had a road game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center.
But, rather than seeing his good friend break the record in person and then joining his team for their game against the Blazers, Green had to settle for firing off a congratulatory tweet -- likely from a hotel in Portland.
Golden State fell to the Blazers 125-122 during the Feb. 8 contest, and Green scored four points with six rebounds and seven assists. It was Klay Thompson's birthday, too, and the next day, the Warriors acquired Gary Payton II at the NBA trade deadline.
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Golden State Warriors
And while Green missed his friend James' big night, the two athletes certainly will have plenty to look back on after the Warriors-Lakers Western Conference semifinals starting Tuesday at Chase Center.
Because friendship or not, both players are sure to give their all on the floor.