Draymond Green and Austin Rivers have been going back and forth this week, and Rivers just made sure he had the last word.
It started when Green claimed Steve Kerr stunted his growth as a scorer. This was a surprising pivot, considering Green and Kerr shared an emotional moment after the Warriors were eliminated from the Play-In Tournament. The 36-year-old argued that the team hasn’t run a single play for him since 2016.
When Austin Rivers went on The Dan Patrick Show, he called that claim “ridiculous,” arguing that Green simply doesn’t realize why he isn’t used as an offensive focal point.
Green retaliated on his podcast, mocking Rivers for being out of the league while Green is “still on act one.” He also called Rivers’ $42 million Clippers deal the “biggest bailout in NBA history.”
It hit like a truck because Rivers signed that deal while his father was both head coach and president of basketball operations. So, Rivers wasn’t having it.
He recently posted a three-minute video responding to the four-time NBA champion point-by-point. He acknowledged Green’s Hall of Fame trajectory but zeroed in on the elephant in the room.
“You were drafted to a franchise with a Hall of Fame front office, a Hall of Fame coach, the greatest shooter of all time, and perhaps a top-five player of all time in Steph Curry,” Rivers said. “Klay Thompson, another Hall of Famer. Kevin Durant — one of the most lethal scorers of all time and arguably a top-10 player ever. The same guy you chased off because of your mouth.”
Austin Rivers responds to Draymond Green for his, “disrespectful,” comments yesterday: pic.twitter.com/7ZV2fJg2Ts
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) May 5, 2026
Directly addressing the “backpack jump shooter” label often used by Green’s critics, Rivers added, “You’re the guy everyone leaves open. There are hours of film of you being left wide open. There are clips of you getting a rebound, driving in a straight line, and getting a layup because everyone is fanning out to guard the actual talent.”
And the dig lands because Green’s scoring ability was never that great. Despite his role as a score-first guard, Rivers averaged 8.5 points over 707 games, which is nearly identical to Green’s 8.7 points over 949 games.
The 33-year-old leaned into that irony, acknowledging the Warriors star’s Hall of Fame status while stripping away the credit: “You got it, Dre. You’re a Hall of Famer. But Steve Kerr made your career.”
The beef started as a debate about coaching philosophy. However, Rivers’ argument is hard to ignore because the Warriors’ overwhelming system and star talent provided a foundation that Green might not have found anywhere else.
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