As the New York Knicks prepare for their first NBA Finals in 27 years, one of the league's most prominent voices is refusing to join the celebration. On the latest mailbag edition of The Draymond Green Show, the Golden State Warriors forward revisited his long-running skepticism about the Knicks — and, for the most part, dug in.
Green has spent multiple seasons casting doubt on New York's ceiling, and he used the episode to audit those takes. One he walked back: a May 2024 claim that the Knicks were padding their résumé by beating "very mid teams" and were destined to fade like the Atlanta Hawks or the 2016 Portland Trail Blazers. "I would like to apologize for this one," Green said.
The central critique, though, he reinforced. Green's argument is that the Knicks lack a true alpha — the kind of player who can tilt a championship series on his own. The piece they are missing, he said, is the "bona-fide 1A" star: "That's Kevin Durant, that's Steph Curry, that's SGA, that's LeBron James." Until New York has a player of that order, Green added, "I just don't think it's going to be — it's going to be very tough to win a championship."
Then came the line that set the basketball world buzzing. Green dismissed the idea that simply reaching the Finals out of the Eastern Conference should count for much. "Getting out of the East has never been a surefire to win a championship," he said. "You get out of the East, you're supposed to get out of the East. It's the East. Of course you're supposed to get out of the East. That don't just mean you win a championship because you get out of the East." He even offered a backhanded nod to the Knicks' run and head coach Mike Brown: "Happy for Mike Brown, by the way. But you should get out of the East."
Green's doubts extend to New York's best player. Asked to compare Jalen Brunson's late-game value to that of his own teammate Steph Curry, Green offered respect with a caveat. Brunson's clutch ability is "definitely up there on an elite level," he said, "but you must win a championship to put it in the same category." Until Brunson is a champion, Green argued, the comparison can only go so far.
The timing makes the comments combustible. Brunson has been one of the most prolific postseason scorers in franchise history, and the Knicks earned their berth by dispatching the Cleveland Cavaliers. Green's stance — that a Finals appearance is the baseline expectation, not an achievement to be toasted — is exactly the kind of slight a veteran team can pin to the locker-room wall.
Green taped the episode before the Spurs closed out the Thunder in Game 7, meaning his full Finals breakdown is still to come. But his message to Knicks fans was already clear. "Prove me wrong," he said. "Double down. Absolutely double down."
