Draymond Green isn't used to losing. The 29-year-old is in his eighth NBA season and already has played in five Finals, winning three rings.
Before being selected by the Warriors in the second round of the 2012 draft, Green went to two Final Fours at Michigan State and never experienced a losing season in college. Things are a bit different this year in San Francisco, though.
After the Warriors' four-game winning streak came to an end Saturday with a 20-point loss to the Dallas Mavericks, Golden State dropped to 9-25 on the year. This is foreign territory for Draymond, and his coach is highly impressed with how the fiery forward is dealing with the tough season.
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"I think he's handling it just fine," Steve Kerr recently said to ESPN's Nick Friedell. "He's a realist like I am. Nobody is preordained to get to play in the Finals every year. It just doesn't work that way.
"So I think we sort of look at it the opposite way in that how lucky we've been to be a part of this group over the last, for me five years, for Draymond the last seven years, and have this wild success.
"And maybe we were due for a year like this."
Even when he shared a court with the likes of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant, Green was considered the voice and heartbeat of the Warriors. Sure, he's boisterous, however, he always been a leader.
Golden State Warriors
This season, though, Draymond is having to change up his leadership style. People on the outside see a loud, sometimes out of control player on the court. But the people behind the scenes have praised Draymond's leadership this season.
"I've never really had anybody sit us down and talk to us like that," rookie two-way guard Ky Bowman said to Friedell. "Just to help us understand what was happening."
The veteran do-it-all forward is doing his best to communicate to a young squad. Steph is hurt, so is Klay. KD is gone, as are veterans Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston.
Green knows this team is headed closer to the draft lottery than the playoffs, but he has to get a group of youngsters on the same page.
"Most guys in general struggle with communication," Green says. "It's kind of amplified when you're dealing with younger guys.
"Half the battle is just getting people to say something."
Take Warriors rookie Alen Smailagic for example. The 19-year-old Serbian made his NBA debut on Friday and has been all ears whenever Green speaks up.
“I really like to talk to him because he really wants to help me,” Smailagic told NBC Sports Bay Area late Saturday night. “The way he talks to me and everything, it really helps me. It helps me develop into a better player.
“He told me points are going to come. That I’m young but that he likes the way I play, and the way I want to play.”
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Smailagic is the student, Green is the teacher. For the Warriors to get back on top in the near future, the three-time All-Star will have to continue to be a tutor no matter how frustrating it gets at times.
While Draymond wants nothing more than to win, he clearly is up for his latest challenge.