SAN FRANCISCO, CA: DECEMBER 09: Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green #23 pauses in between plays in the second quarter of their NBA game against the Memphis Grizzlies at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, Dec. 9, 2019. (Jane Tyska/Digital First Media/The Mercury News via Getty Images)
With the Golden State Warriors not having qualified for the NBA restart, star forward Draymond Green has remained committed to speaking up for social justice.
When the NBA came to an agreement for a plan to restart its season after it had been halted by the coronavirus pandemic, it included playoff seeding matchups between a total of 22 teams with the top 13 teams from the Western Conference and the top nine teams from the Eastern conference all qualifying.
As a result, the bottom eight teams in the league were left out of the return to play, and their seasons came to an abrupt close. One of these bottom eight teams was the Golden State Warriors who had the worst record in the NBA, 15-50 when the season was paused in early March.
The Warriors compared to their dominant teams of the past that were able to win back to back NBA championships in 2017 and 2018, were a shell of themselves and vastly undermanned.
Kevin Durant had left to join up with Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets during the 2019 offseason, Klay Thompson missed the entire season due to a torn ACL, and Steph Curry missed significant time during the season with a broken hand.
A great deal of the team duties fell on Green during the season due to departures and injuries, but he is now focused on social justice since the season is over
This forced forward Draymond Green to step up and produce for the team. And during a game against the Cavs in early Feb. Green totaled an impressive 16 assists.
Along with his skill on the court, Draymond has a well-earned reputation for being one of the most vocal players in the NBA in regards to trash talking and praising, or criticizing other players. But now, Green is using his vocality to stand up for social justice and equality.
In an interview with USA Today, Green admitted that he hasn’t been as civically engaged in the past as he should have, and did not vote in the 2012 or 2016 presidential elections.
Regardless of his past, Green has now aligned himself with various issues, including supporting compensation for NCAA players in order to stop exploiting minority student-athletes, which he co-wrote an Op-Ed about with Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy.
He has also teamed up with LeBron James on the “More Than a Vote” initiative, which addresses voter suppression in African American communities.
Green has never had any reservations about speaking his mind when it comes to basketball, and now that the Warriors will not be returning to the court anytime soon, it is encouraging to see him use his vocalness to help enact positive change.