I know what I'm capable of, and I try to go out and prove that.
— Draymond Green
A guy that's going to do all of the dirty work, that guy that is willing to defend anyone and do the little things and not really care about all of that other stuff. I think every championship team needs that.
A person who can go out and get 40 is going to get a lot more respect than somebody who goes out and holds somebody to two points. It's just the nature of the game. It doesn't bother me.
Michigan State means so much to my life and me.
I'm going to be more critical of myself than anyone could ever be.
When you're 250 pounds, you can push more people around, but you can't move as fast or jump as high.
I can't worry about techs. I've got to play my game.
I put my heart into this. Like, winning to me is, I make it life or death.
You've just got to earn my respect.
A guy who's not a champion can't talk too much about championships, can he?
My whole life, I've guarded guys bigger than me.
What's my status? I'm just a guy from Saginaw, Michigan, trying to make it. But you know, pretty nice crib.
When you play against people that's better than you, you get better.
I was always taught, even as a kid, playing against grown men, you get better.
I know what hard times are like. I didn't grow up with a silver spoon in my mouth. I've had struggles.
I think Coach Kerr and his staff have done a great job with what they bring to the table.
Think about the deflections. The offense can't score every play. They're just trying to get a good shot. If I can deflect a pass, even if it doesn't cause a turnover, it will throw their timing off half-a-second. That half-a-second might mess up their shot.
When I came out in the draft, people kept asking me, 'So are you a small forward or a power forward?' and I was like, 'I'm a basketball player.' Period.
No one is going to tell me I'm too small to do whatever, to do anything. That's not up to them, and I'll never give anyone that power to say that.
Four-men aren't used to picking up guys pushing the ball in transition. Let alone, somebody getting the rebound and just busting.
Wherever you go in Michigan, you find that toughness. I don't know if it's the weather or the hard times. It's like, if I can make it out of here, I had to be super tough.
I know things that I need to work on in my life, things that I can be better at.
There's still nothing like a home-cooked meal. Absolutely not.
I tell guys all the time, you see me messing up, get at me. I want you to get at me.
My heart is bigger than most guys who have size over me.
I wouldn't necessarily say I'm arrogant. I'm just confident.
I have a great smile. A lot of people don't know that.
You couldn't play if you weren't tough. You'd get bullied. Everybody who comes through the Civitan Recreation Center has to be tough. It's what we breed.
I can throw all the good passes I want, but if they don't make shots, it's not an assist.
Just because it's a break doesn't mean it has to be fast all the time. It can be a secondary break, but you've got to allow the defense to break down.
There is no chip coming off of my shoulder because, at the end of the day, you're still going to continue to be doubted.
I was a great help-side defender in college, but as far as really wanting to lock somebody up, that was never really my focus.
I refuse to be outworked, and I consider myself to have the heart of a lion.
You don't contest shots without expending energy. You don't get deflections - unless you walk into one every now and then - without expending energy. These are the things in basketball you have to really want to do.
I just go out and play my game. Just making sure I keep doing those little things, like playing with toughness, that's just me.
No matter what, no matter how I feel, always bring effort.
I always loved playing basketball. That was never a problem for me. You want to go to the park or the gym, I'll play with you all day, but working out, I didn't love. I hated it.
I think complacency is what you allow it to be.
At the end of the day, before basketball, before anything, I'm a man.
If you put junk into your body, your body is going to give you junk results.
That's one of my strengths, that I can adjust, and I can play with anyone.
I've gotten to the point where I'm comfortable guarding any position on the floor. It just didn't happen overnight. It came with a lot of work, a lot of film study and everything.
Everyone wonders why I talk junk, but I was doomed from the beginning.
Playing point guard is someone's instincts. They're used to that. That's my instincts.
It's the way of life in Saginaw. If you're not tough, you don't survive.
I'm blessed, and... all the time, I sit and think, 'Wow.'
I know when I need to be pushing it full speed; I know when I got to probe and allow the flow to open up, because, at the end of the day, on the basketball court, something's going to open up.
Are you going to back down to somebody? If not, you're giving yourself a chance.
My uncle, my dad always made sure I had guard skills. But as far as defending everybody, that wasn't really my mindset until my rookie year.
So many times, I watch games and think, 'Man, why is that guy trying to score like that? He can't do it.' But he's been told his whole life, 'You have to go get 40 if you want to be one of the top dogs.' It's my goal to build a lane where you can be a top dog, and you don't gotta go get that 40. You can go get four and still be a top dog.
