The Golden State Warriors haven’t been in the NBA Finals since the summer of 2022, but that won’t stop Draymond Green from making his presence felt when the proceedings arrive in the Big Apple next week.
ESPN recently announced Green will return to a co-hosting role on “Inside the NBA” for Games 3 and 4 in New York City between the hometown Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs.
“For the first time ever, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Inside the NBA team, featuring Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal, will serve as the official NBA Finals pregame, halftime and postgame shows — produced on-site by TNT Sports from San Antonio and New York,” Ronce Rajan wrote. “In addition, four-time NBA Champion Draymond Green will contribute as a guest analyst for Games 3 and 4 in New York.”
The Knicks host the Spurs in Game 3 on Monday night, June 8. The two teams play Game 4 on Wednesday, June 10. San Antonio hosts Game 1 on Wednesday, June 3 and Game 2 on Friday, June 5. All necessary contests in the 2026 NBA Finals will begin at 8:30 p.m. ET.
Draymond Green Involved in Confrontation With Charles Barkley During Last Appearance on ‘Inside the NBA’
GettyDraymond Green of the Golden State Warriors.
Green has served as a guest analyst multiple times with “Inside the NBA” over the years, which is at least some type of indicator that analysis and/or game broadcasting is a career choice he might pursue on a permanent basis whenever he decides to retire from the sport.
That said, Green’s most recent appearance on the program came with some tension and awkwardness between he and Barkley, the longtime and undisputed star of the award-winning show.
“While parrying Barkley’s assertion that the Golden State Warriors’ run was over, Green responded that he and his teammates are just trying to avoid looking like Barkley did while with the Houston Rockets in the late 1990s,” Brandon Kleen of Awful Announcing wrote Tuesday. “The joke made for some awkward television and sparked a discussion about Green’s disposition as a television commentator and whether he was actually cut out for a career in media.”
Draymond Green’s Playing Future With Warriors Remains Uncertain
GettyDraymond Green of the Golden State Warriors.
As for Green’s immediate future, that still involves playing in the NBA, and potentially doing so as a member of the Warriors in 2026-27 and beyond.
Green is entering the final year of a $100 million deal, which pays him $27.6 million for the upcoming campaign but is also a player option. While still a brilliant defender, Green is unlikely to get that kind of money if he chooses to void the final season of his contract and enter the open market as an unrestricted free agent.
However, the 13-year veteran who will turn 37 years old late next season may view the situation as one in which the smartest financial play is to opt out and ink a two-year deal, or even a three-year contract if he can get one.
Green and his camp will do the math on what he might expect to sign for next summer (years and money) if he stays on an expiring deal in Golden State this season, which would also render him an easily tradable piece later this summer or at the deadline should the Warriors decide to go a different direction.
The former Defensive Player of the Year has said he is interested in extending in Golden State if the team comes to the table with a “fair” offer. But what Green thinks is fair and how the front office defines the term could prove remarkably different.
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