Draymond Green has spoken and as usual, it’s with the confidence of a man who’s never been wrong in his own mind. The Warriors star hit the mic to reveal his five “true contenders” in the Western Conference, and shocker of the century: his Golden State Warriors are on it.
According to Green, the chosen five are: the Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, the Thunders and the Golden State Warriors. Yes, Draymond is still betting on his aging superteam like they’re fresh out of the draft.
“When I look at the conference, I think the true contenders in my mind, when I think about this, is OKC, yours truly, the Dubs. Back in The Dubs Invitational,” Green said on the latest episode of The Draymond Green Show. “Denver, obviously [Nikola Jokić], champion, always going to give them a chance, they’re always going to be right there. A matchup nightmare for everybody. The way [Aaron Gordon’s] been playing, [he’s] looked good. They’re always right there, they’re going to make a run for it.
“And then I think you’ve got to look at both LA teams, both of those teams need good breaks. Obviously you’ve got [LeBron James] starting off the season on the bench, unhealthy. We just found out Luka [Dončić’s] going to be out for at least a week with some injuries. So they’ll need the break, and then obviously the Clippers, they’ll need Kawhi [Leonard] to be healthy.”
Green added, “Those are the teams I see right now out the gate that I’m like, ‘Yeah, those are the contenders in the West. ”
Those five teams, the Thunder, Warriors, Nuggets, Lakers, and Clippers, currently sit among the top half of the Western Conference standings.
Say what you want, the man’s delusion is inspiring. He’s either a basketball prophet or the NBA’s funniest motivational speaker. Either way, you can’t knock the hustle or the confidence of this man.
One team he left out, either intentionally or unintentionally, was Kevin Durant’s Houston Rockets, who the Warriors eliminated in last season’s playoffs.
Draymond Green says the Warriors, Lakers, Clippers, Nuggets, and Thunder are the only real contenders in the West 👀
(🎥 @DraymondShow / h/t @NBA__Courtside )
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) October 28, 2025
