Why Draymond Green wanted Warriors to play Kings in first round of 2023 NBA Playoffs

Jordan Greer

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Why Draymond Green wanted Warriors to play Kings in first round of 2023 NBA Playoffs image

The Warriors certainly didn't look like the defending champions during the 2022-23 regular season. They finished just six games above .500 and owned one of the worst road records in the NBA.

Still, the Warriors were able to secure a playoff berth and avoid the Western Conference Play-In Tournament. They will enter the bracket as the No. 6 seed — and Draymond Green is just fine with that placement.

Before the start of the 2023 NBA Playoffs, Green discussed the possibility of Golden State battling Sacramento in the No. 3 vs. No. 6 matchup. There is one big reason why he wanted to face the Kings in the first round.

MORE: Can the Kings take the fight to the experienced Warriors?

Why Draymond Green wanted Warriors to play Kings

Green doesn't have a personal beef with a specific Kings player or view the team as an easy out. On a March episode of his podcast, "The Draymond Green Show," he explained that he simply didn't want to log as many miles in the air.

"The reason why I said [Sacramento] is simply just because of the travel. That's a lot on your body," Green said. "If we can bus ride an hour and 10 minutes up the way, like, I just think that's much better for us.

"Now, [Sacramento] is playing well and a very good team, but just from the travel — at the end of the day, I don't really care who we play in the playoffs. I think we can win."

Golden State spent a lot of time on the team plane last year, making stops in Denver, Memphis, Dallas and Boston on its way to the title.

Did Draymond Green give Kings bulletin board material?

Green's thoughts on the Warriors' travel arrangements hardly qualify as trash talk. However, Sacramento may use other comments from Green as a source of motivation.

Back in October, Green made an appearance on "The Shop" and took a shot at the Kings with a little bit of encouragement from Maverick Carter, a longtime friend and business partner of LeBron James.

"It's not a night that I show up and I don't want to be a dog, especially if it's LeBron coming in, if it's Giannis [Antetokounmpo] coming in, because those are the games I live for," Green said. "It's the nights I show up, and we're playing against the sorry motherf—ers. ...

"The Kings stink. You name them. [Oklahoma City] right now — the Kings may get better this year, I hope."

Sacramento players heard those remarks, and they didn't appreciate them.

Kings forward Harrison Barnes, who spent the first four seasons of his career with the Warriors, told NBC Sports California's Kayte Christensen that the team "has talked about it."

Green refused to back down, of course. He told veteran NBA reporters Chris Haynes and Marc Stein on the "#thisleague Uncut" podcast that he wasn't wrong because, well, "The Kings have sucked."

"Since I've been in the NBA, they have sucked. They have not made the playoffs since I've been in the NBA," Green said. "It's not some bulletin board of disrespect. It's actually a fact. They are who we were when I came into the NBA.

"They're changing now. I also said on that episode now the Kings got Mike Brown, and I expect that to change. I also had De'Aaron Fox on my podcast, and I told Fox, 'This is on you. Kings get to the playoffs, this is on you, my brother.'

"They traded Tyrese Haliburton. They essentially said, 'De'Aaron Fox is our point guard. Fox, you need to go out there, and you need to lead this team to the playoffs. There's no reason you shouldn't be an All-Star. ... Guess what? Fox went out there and led this team to the playoffs. Fox went out there and became an All-Star, and he's leading that organization in the right direction."

We'll soon find out if the Kings can take an even bigger step forward by knocking Green and the Warriors out of the playoffs.

Warriors vs. Kings schedule, TV channels

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Warriors vs. Kings schedule
Date Game Time (ET) TV channel
April 15 Game 1 8:30 p.m. ABC
April 17 Game 2 10 p.m. TNT
April 20 Game 3 10 p.m. TNT
April 23 Game 4 3:30 p.m. ABC
April 26 Game 5* TBD TBD
April 28 Game 6* TBD TBD
April 30 Game 7* TBD TBD

*If necessary

Jordan Greer

Jordan Greer Photo

Jordan Greer has been with The Sporting News since 2015. He previously worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He is a graduate of Westminster College and Syracuse University.