Draymond Green had cool postgame message for Nikola Jokic

Feb 20, 2020; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) stands on the court before the game against the Houston Rockets at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

Draymond Green is not always BFFs with opposing bigs (see: Gobert, Rudy). But there’s clearly a mutual respect shared between Green and Nikola Jokic.

After the Golden State Warriors eliminated the Denver Nuggets this week in their first-round playoff series, Green revealed what he told Jokic during their postgame embrace.

Jokic and Draymond. ✊ pic.twitter.com/1UORKM0KEd

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) April 28, 2022

“I told him thank you for making me better,” said Green, per Shayna Rubin of The Mercury News. “It’s an honor and pleasure to play [against] someone so skilled. Usually when you have guys that talented and skilled they’re soft. And he’s far, far from soft.”

Green was often matched up against the reigning MVP Jokic as the Warriors regularly went small and gave Green the tough task of containing the seven-footer. Though Jokic still averaged a grandiose 31.0 points, 13.2 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game in the series, the Warriors were able to close out the Nuggets in five games.

The Green-Jokic matchup really gave us our money’s worth as it produced that wholesome moment plus this funny viral moment from the TNT crew.