The Golden State Warriors’ season came to an end in the Western Conference Semifinals with a disappointing 1-4 series loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Many pointed to Stephen Curry’s hamstring injury as the primary culprit behind the defeat, with the two-time MVP missing the final four games where Golden State lost every single contest.
Green dismisses injury excuses despite Curry’s absence
However, Warriors forward Draymond Green has firmly rejected the notion that Curry’s injury is solely to blame for their playoff exit, emphasizing that injuries are simply part of the game.
Green drew parallels to the Warriors’ own championship run in 2015, when they benefited from injuries to Cleveland Cavaliers stars Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving during the NBA Finals.
“I wholeheartedly believe if Steph was healthy we could have done that, but I once won a championship where Kyrie Irving got hurt in the NBA Finals and Kevin Love got hurt in the NBA Finals. Do I think we still would have won if they didn’t get hurt? I do believe so, but we’ll never know,” Green said.
The veteran forward stressed the importance of accepting both the fortunate and unfortunate aspects of injuries in basketball.
“That’s just the nature of the sport that we play. Injuries are a part of it, unfortunately. You can’t take the good and be like, oh, man, we won a championship and it don’t matter that somebody was hurt,” he added.
Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty ImagesWarriors experienced championship success amid opponent injuries in 2015
In that memorable 2015 Finals, the Warriors defeated a severely depleted Cavaliers team in six games, though Green maintains their victory wasn’t solely due to Cleveland’s injury woes.
“On the flipside, can’t sit here and be like, we would have won had Steph not got hurt. No, you’ve been on the other side of that, so respect it when it don’t go your way,” Green explained.
He particularly criticized fans and players who only acknowledge injuries when they negatively impact their own team.
“One thing I hate is a frontrunner. Oh, man, we won our championships because we were that good, which we were, but Kyrie Irving got hurt. Kevin Love got hurt. Robert Williams got hurt. That is the nature of the sport we play,” he added, referring back to the 2015 Finals.
Golden State has endured their share of injury setbacks
Green also reflected on times when the Warriors suffered from key injuries during crucial moments, most notably during the 2019 NBA Finals loss to the Toronto Raptors when both Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson were sidelined.
“Unfortunately this time, luck wasn’t on our side and Steph Curry got hurt. But we’ve dealt with it before. Kevin Durant got hurt. Klay Thompson got hurt. So you start to take a peek.“
“It happens every year somewhere. It may not be here, it may be another team. But when it ain’t on your side, you can’t be the guys that go up there and be like, oh, we would have won if…,” Green said.
Minnesota deserves credit as the better team
Ultimately, Green believes this season’s failure to reach the Conference Finals or capture a championship simply reflects the reality that the Timberwolves were the superior team.
“In a perfect world, probably. But the world ain’t perfect. Far from it. So take the good with the bad. The Minnesota Timberwolves ended our season. They beat us regardless of who we had on the floor. We were a playoff team and they’re moving on,” he stated.
Green concluded with empathy for Curry while maintaining his stance against making excuses: “That’s just — it sucks for Steph that he wasn’t able to be out there because you work so hard for those moments to be in that situation.“
“So I feel for him. But under no circumstance will I be like, oh, man, they’re lucky. No, they won. Move on. We try to get better this off-season and try to do it again next year.”