Draymond Green on Finals loss: ‘That will never wear off’

Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green has turned his attention from the 2015–16 season as he prepares to compete with the Team USA at the Olympics, but the sting from losing the NBA title is still there.

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Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green has turned his attention away from the 2015–16 season as he prepares to compete with the Team USA at the Olympics, but he says the sting from losing the NBA title hasn’t gone away. 

“That will never wear off,” Green said via ESPN. “We had an opportunity to win a championship. That never goes away. [But] you got to move on.”

Green and the Warriors were shocked by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals, becoming the first team to lose after going up 3–1 in a finals series.

Green will be playing alongside point guard Kyrie Irving, one of the catalysts of that Cavaliers comeback, in Rio. Despite being disappointed about the outcome of the Finals, Green has no issues playing with Irving.

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“Of course it is (still fresh),” Green said of the championship defeat. “But that don’t mean I am coming into this like, ‘Oh man, I am mad at Kyrie.’ Number one, they beat us, so you respect that. Number two, we are here for this. It is not about anybody's personal feelings. It is about representing the country.”

The USA will begin Olympic preliminary round play against China on Aug. 6.