Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green played through a serious head injury during the 2015-16 NBA season.
Green talked about the injury on Los Angeles Clippers All-Star Paul George’s podcast.
“I remember I got hit in the head by Joe Ingles like going for a loose ball and I fell down,” Green said. “This may be like five games left in the season. I was concussed as hell. I can’t tell nobody because if I sit any of these games, we may not get the record. We gotta get this record. So I just played through it.”
The Warriors won an NBA record 73 games in 2015-16. However, they weren’t able to cap off their magical season with a title. Golden State blew a 3-1 series lead in the 2016 Finals to the Cleveland Cavaliers, becoming the first team in NBA history to lose a Finals series after taking a 3-1 lead.
“I knew for sure I was concussed, but I refused,” Green added. “I’m like, ‘No, we’re going to get these 73 games.’ And we did it, but at what price? I look back on that, and it’s like wow that was an incredible feat. If you told me today [we] can win 73 games next year and actually close the deal and win a championship, I may say, ‘No, I’m cool.'”
The Warriors signed Kevin Durant in the summer of 2016 and won back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018. Green, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson have played in six NBA Finals and won four championships together.
The Dubs could compete for another ring next season after trading Jordan Poole to the Washington Wizards for Chris Paul. Golden State is expected to start Paul, Curry, Thompson, Andrew Wiggins and Green.
Green, who was an unrestricted free agent this summer, re-signed with the Warriors on a four-year, $100 million contract. The former Defensive Player of the Year was never going to leave Golden State.
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