Draymond Green Finds Himself in Stephen Curry’s Situation as 8-YO Son’s Confession Takes Unexpected Turn

There was no yelling, no flagrant fouls, no sideline squabbles, just Draymond Green cracking up on Jimmy Kimmel Live, sounding less like the Warriors’ emotional engine and more like a dad trying to decode his kids’ extracurricular chaos. This wasn’t the fire-breathing four-time champ version of Draymond. This was Draymond the Piano Dad. Draymond the Soccer Dad. Draymond the “how-do-I-parent-without-pressuring” Dad.

And when he recalled trying to spark his 8-year-old son DJ’s interest in basketball, you could hear the competitive DNA kicking in, then quietly backing off. “I saw him play basketball at a friend his friend had a party last weekend at a fieldhouse and they played,” Green shared. “He was destroying those kids. I couldn’t believe it.” That was Draymond Green, amazed, and maybe just a little smug, watching his 8-year-old casually dominate a game like he’d been born into it.

Because, well… he kind of was. “Hey DJ, you know if you really want to take basketball serious like I can help you be really good like I kind of got the cheat code,” Draymond said, recounting the conversation with his son. “And he’s like, ‘Yeah I play soccer.’” Yep, ice cold, no interest, next topic. And just like that, the guy who once body-checked half the Western Conference had to… table the conversation.

But Draymond Green isn’t the only Warriors star grappling with the parenting version of “read and react.” Just last year, Stephen Curry admitted on Live with Kelly and Mark that despite being one of the greatest to ever play the game, his kids might not follow his path. “I’m 0 for 2 so far,” Curry joked, revealing his oldest daughter plays volleyball and his middle child is a dancer. Even his youngest, the five-year-old, is a mystery in the making. Curry kept it light, but the sentiment was real: even NBA royalty can’t draft their kids’ passions.

That’s what makes Green’s story hit even harder… and funnier. Like Curry, he sees flashes of athletic greatness in his son, but knows better than to force it. The beauty of it? It humanizes both stars. On one hand, it shows restraint, letting kids choose their lanes. On the other, there’s that itch, that legacy whisper, that says “Come on, at least try basketball!” The comparison isn’t just fun, it’s fascinating. Two ultra-competitive MVPs, both dads, both learning how to play the long game… off the court.

A different shade of Green

“So I’m holding on, … I’ll LaVar Ball him at some point, but I’m not there yet.” That restraint? That pause? It’s not what we’re used to seeing from Draymond. But this is a different kind of arena. “At some point, I’ll turn into LaVar Ball and push,” Green repeated and smirked. “Right now you got time.”

Now that is a loaded name drop. LaVar Ball — the outspoken, often polarizing father of NBA players Lonzo and LaMelo Ball — became infamous for his relentless promotion of his sons, his bold proclamations (remember when he said he could beat Michael Jordan?), and his unapologetically hands-on approach to their careers. He was part sports dad, part media brand, part meme. So when Draymond Green jokes about becoming LaVar Ball “at some point,” he’s tapping into a very specific cultural image: the loud, over-involved, occasionally delusional parent-coach hybrid. But it’s also a wink, a sign that he knows how not to go there, even if he’s tempted.

Michigan State University’s 2022 Hall of Fame inductee Draymond Green, left, plays with his daughter Kyla, center, as his wife Hazel smiles during an induction ceremony on Friday, Sept. 9, 2022, at the Clara Bell Smith Center on the MSU campus in East Lansing.
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For now, he’s playing it cool. His daughter? She’s all in on the arts. “My 10-year-old, she’s in competitive cheer, she’s in dance, piano — she’s more artistic,” Green shared proudly. “When she’s playing at piano…” Kimmel interrupts, jokingly: “You ever yell out ‘You suck?’”

“Absolutely!” Draymond laughs out loud, and continues, “Not that, that’s good” This is the same guy who once screamed across a Finals court and picked up technicals like loose rebounds. But with his kids? The volume is lower, the patience is higher. And the evolution? It’s real. And Kimmel summed it up best: “He’s the best dad.” Draymond’s response to that, though? Just a big, knowing laugh. Classic Green, isn’t it?

Because deep down, even with a Hall of Fame basketball brain and that “cheat code” ready to hand off, he knows some games, like parenting, you don’t win by force. You win by waiting for the right time to play the ball.

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