Saginaw native Draymond Green has played 14 seasons in the NBA, a strech that includes 949 regular-season games, and 169 more when you add the postseason.
But, since arriving in the NBA in 2012 as a second-round pick out of Michigan State, Green says he’s never taken in an NBA game as a fan. That is, until Thursday, when he sat courtside at Little Caesars Arena for the Detroit Pistons’ 107-97 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference semifinals series.
Green, who has been to NBA games as a TV analyst, says he found out quickly what all of the fuss was about.
“I’ve never sat courtside at an NBA game,” Green said on his podcast, The Draymond Green Show, “never understood the hype of why people are willing to pay so much money to sit courtside at these games. Having that experience, I must say to all of you people, I kind of understand it.”
Draymond on sitting courtside at Pistons/Cavs Game 2
“Not well known fact about me is I’ve never gone to NBA games as an NBA player outside of working doing TV… Never understood the hype or why people are willing to pay so much money to sit courtside, having that experience I… pic.twitter.com/pZ22G08dTD
— The Draymond Green Show (@DraymondShow) May 10, 2026
Green, who has helped the Golden State Warriors win four NBA titles during an NBA career in which he is a four-time All-Star, says he experienced some of the same emotions before Game 2 he experiences as a player.
” … I ain’t never been to the game and so I really don’t know how I’m supposed to be feeling right now,” he said. “Like a part of me is like, yeah of course, should be playing, but a part of me is like this kid in a candy store. Like, yo, I’m going to an NBA playoff game, and I’m sitting courtside, and I ain’t never did it.
“But I really don’t know how to feel, and then it’s nostalgia, right? Like, it’s the Pistons. … I’m in there tripping out like stomach queasy, like I’m ’bout to play game, man, I was nervous as hell.”
Green, whose Warriors were bounced this season in the play-in portion of the NBA Playoffs, called the experience “so special.”
Green was a three-time Big Ten champion during his four seasons at Michigan State (2008-12) and played in two Final Fours. As a senior, Green earned national player of the year honors from the National Association of Basketball Coaches while also being named the Big Ten Player of the Year.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Draymond Green takes in Detroit Pistons-Cleveland Cavaliers as NBA fan
