Draymond Green Sends Strong Message to Celtics After NBA Finals Loss

https://heavy.com/sports/boston-celtics/grant-williams-draymond-green-nba-finals/



Draymond Green Sends Strong Message to Celtics After NBA Finals Loss


By Jack Simone
Updated Jun 18, 2022 at 3:31am




Getty
Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors and Al Horford of the Boston Celtics.



The Boston Celtics lost to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals after battling their way back from being a .500 basketball team mid-way through January. Their run was extremely impressive, and although they fell short of their ultimate goal, that does not take away from their amazing achievements.


During Boston’s first set of exit interviews, a few of the team’s young players (and Derrick White) got the chance to reflect on the season. One player, in particular, revealed an interesting story that took place immediately after the Finals wrapped up.


Celtics fan-favorite Grant Williams spoke to the media about Warriors star forward Draymond Green. According to Williams, Green sent the Celtics a very encouraging message after their battle in the Finals.


“For us, it’s just a matter of, he basically just said, ‘you’ll be back. And when you get back, don’t allow the opportunity to slip again. And just continue to improve.’ Not necessarily in those words, but that’s kind of the message I received from him,” Williams stated.

Celtics on NBC Sports Boston
@NBCSCeltics
"He basically just said 'You'll be back and when you get back don't allow the opportunity to slip again'"

Grant Williams on the message Draymond Green gave him after Game 6
https://twitter.com/i/status/1537871383103000579


This NBA Championship marked Green’s fourth Finals victory, while the Celtics waltzed into the big dance with zero combined games of Finals experience. They’ll now have the chance to grow from this experience and build on it.

In addition, Williams talked about how much he idolized Green growing up.


Williams Says He ‘Idolized’ Green Growing Up

The Celtics forward spoke about it before the series, but he doubled down on the matter during his exit interview. He said that Green is a player that he looked up to while he was growing up.

“As I’ve always said, Draymond’s the guy that I always idolized growing up. He’s the ultimate competitor. It’s one of those things, just showing the respect that was deserved. As much as there’s trash talk or as much as we go at it, at the end of the day, we leave it on the court. That’s exactly how both of us are and how both of us play,” said Williams.

Williams and Green got into it on multiple occasions throughout the course of the NBA Finals. In fact, Green’s spat with Williams led to a technical foul in Game 2 of the Finals. However, as Williams noted, they leave that stuff on the court.

Lastly, Williams discussed his great respect for Williams and what the pair spoke about after the game.


Green Instilled ‘Words of Wisdom’ to Williams

According to Williams, the pair exchanged words after the game, but not in the same, trash-talky way they did during the series. Instead, Williams offered Green his congratulations, and Green offered Williams some kind-hearted advice.

“It was a little bit of just congratulations from my end and him instilling those words of wisdom for the future. And you always gotta respect a man like that. He’s a phenomenal guy,” Williams stated.

It’s very clear that both players have a tremendous amount of respect for each other. However, that also won’t stop them from getting into it on the court. That’s just how they play. But when the whistle blows, these two can appreciate what the other brings to the table.


Bob



.