Draymond Green Knocks OKC Thunder’s Postgame Interviews

The Warriors veteran forward took a shot at the Thunder this week.

Apr 21, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) is met by his teammates during an interview with tv after defeating the New Orleans Pelicans in game one of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images / Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

As Oklahoma City has risen through the ranks of the NBA’s top teams, they are naturally getting more time in the spotlight. The Thunder’s national media coverage has ramped up, and with it, nationally televised games are common. More and more people are becoming aware of just how good Oklahoma City really is.

Other NBA teams and players are keeping a close eye on the Thunder, too. From the start of the rebuild, Oklahoma City has preached togetherness. Every player on the roster has fully bought into the team-first mentality — nobody is bigger than the team itself. It started with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s selfless superstar role and has trickled down to each member of the squad. This shared mindset has allowed Oklahoma City to become one of the closest teams in the NBA with sky high chemistry.

With that tight-knit bond, Oklahoma City has created a postgame tradition where nobody does an interview alone — the whole team joins in. It started with barking a season ago, and has continued to make national headlines now.

Apparently, some people don’t approve of the Thunder having fun on the basketball court. And it’s not even truly on the basketball court — it’s after the game is over and the final buzzer sounds. Draymond Green ripped the Thunder’s postgame camaraderie out of nowhere on a podcast this week. 

“The one thing I see about the OKC team that’s alarming to me is their postgame,” Green said. “Seven guys in the interview. There’s a certain seriousness it takes to win in this league. And there’s a certain fear you have to instill in teams in order to win. I just don’t know if they’re instilling that fear in teams with all the bromance and stuff after the game.”

The Warriors were used to the same spotlight Oklahoma City has been receiving, but Golden State has struggled to stay relevant over the last two seasons. Green has a right to his own opinion as a multi-time NBA Champion — but not all championship teams win the same way. What worked for Green’s Warriors might not be what works for the Thunder.

It certainly seems like Oklahoma City is committed to striking fear into opponents on the court by outscoring them by 17.5 points with an undefeated record. It seems uncommon for any team in any sport to “instill a certain fear” in opponents through postgame interviews.

If the Thunder’s biggest problem this season is that the tight-knit, young team is having too much fun on the basketball court — it might be a special season.

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