Draymond Green takes offense to young players being compared to his legendary teammate.
The Golden State Warriors are an impressive 7-1 through their first eight games of the 2024-25 NBA season. They were a Play-In Tournament team just one season ago, and they’ve looked quite impressive during the new campaign.
One thing has been made very clear early in the new NBA season. As long as Steph Curry is a member of the Warriors — they’re going to be able to compete to a certain extent. He’s a true legend of the game and he remains a superstar despite being 36-years-old, an age at which most players are beyond their prime.
Curry helped transcend the sport of basketball with his legendary sharpshooting ability, and that’s helped him prolong his impact as a superstar player in the NBA. He’s etched his name into a spot of it’s known in the league’s history.
Draymond Green has been along for the ride with Curry and the Warriors as he played an integral role during Golden State’s dynasty, helping the team to four titles. He’s been the ultimate teammate to Curry as the two have been through plenty together.
With Reed Sheppard being selected No. 3 by the Houston Rockets the recent draft, he’s received some Curry comparisons given his size and shooting ability — which Green took offense to. The Warriors forward took to “The Draymond Green Show,” on which Rockets guard Fred VanVleet was a guest, to make his feelings about the comparisons known.
Two-time NBA All-Star Baron Davis is a permanent co-host on the show, and he opened up the idea of the conversation around the comparisons between Sheppard and Curry.
”Hey, stop it! That’s blasphemy,” Green stated. “Stop it. It’s blasphemous right now, BD.”
The Kentucky product certainly hoists plenty of potential and has a proven track record of being a great sharpshooter, but it’s hard to put any player in the same tier as Curry given what he’s done in the NBA at the highest level.
VanVleet, himself, is an NBA champion and All-Star. He also happens to be a veteran on the Rockets roster, meaning he’s got a first-hand look at Sheppard and his transition to the NBA. While a Curry comparison is wildly unfair to both sides, the Rockets veteran praised the Kentucky product.
”Reed is tough, man,” VanVleet said. “To come in with that skillset at that age, to shoot the ball like that, he’s sharp. He’s smart, he’s tough, he’s sneaky athletic. He’ll continue to grow and get comfortable out there.”
Eventually, Sheppard will be the successor to VanVleet as a starting guard in Houston. In due time, of course, as VanVleet has earned his job after years of hard work as a product of the G League — quite the opposite of Sheppard who was a top-three pick in his respective draft.
The general consensus around Sheppard is that he hoists quite a bit of potential for the Rockets and will be impactful this season, despite his young age.
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