Draymond explains initial love-hate relationship with Barkley originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
When Draymond Green and Charles Barkley share a television screen, it’s must-watch TV.
The Warriors’ outspoken forward and the NBA Hall of Famer have had quite an interesting relationship over the years.
Green appeared on ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” ManningCast with Peyton and Eli Manning, where he discussed his relationship with Barkley and how he was surprised by the NBA on TNT commentator upon meeting him.
“Charles was on TV saying he was going to punch me in the face, ‘I don’t like this guy,’ all of these things,” Green said. “Then I showed up on the set and he totally disarmed me. I’m going on the set like ‘I don’t like this guy, I’m ready to fight, ‘whatever happens on this set just happens.’ I immediately walk on the set and Charles immediately gets out of his seat and says ‘what’s up Draymond? How are you doing? It’s great to see you, we’re so happy to have you here.'”
“I’m standing there like ‘wait a minute, this isn’t the same guy that said he was going to punch me in my face.’ What I realized at that moment, and moving forward, was (he is) one of the nicest guys I’ve ever been around. One of the most thoughtful, incredible people, and not just to me. When you hear the stories and you see all the employees he works with on the set, he knows everyone by name, everyone loves him. One of the most incredible people I’ve ever been around. But I’ll tell you what, I wanted to kick his … you know what when I walked up on the set.”
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Green is referencing a 2018 comment by Barkley where the analyst said he wanted to punch Draymond in the face after an altercation with then-New Orleans Pelicans guard Rajon Rondo.
Since then, the two have seemingly formed a great relationship, and Draymond had nothing but great things to say about Sir Charles on Monday night.