Draymond Green ‘hated’ LeBron James before building close relationship – NBC Sports Bay Area & California

Even as longtime NBA rivals, Draymond Green and LeBron James have become the best of friends over the years — but it wasn’t always that way.

Not even close.

The Warriors forward made a recent appearance on the “Brownie and Rab Show,” where he spoke about how his relationship with the Los Angeles Lakers superstar blossomed into what it is today.

“Hell no. I hated Bron,” Green said of his early relationship with James. “We didn’t have no relationship at all. I had a relationship with [Maverick Carter] and Rich [Paul], I was really tight with [them]. 2017 All-Star [Weekend] was in New Orleans. Bron had a plane going to Anguilla. Mav, Rich, everyone was going. I hadn’t decided where I was going after that All-Star Game, so earlier that day I asked Mav, ‘Mav, where you going after the All-Star Game?’ He’s like we’re going to Anguilla. I’m like can I go? He’s like yeah you can go. I’m like you sure? He’s like yeah let me make sure there’s space on the plane.

“I don’t know if there was no space on the plane or not but I think Bron probably said I ain’t flying on that plane. He gets an entirely different plane so I can fly with them. We had two houses on Four Seasons right next to each other. I also don’t think there was two houses there before. You know why I think Mav got a whole other house? Because I think Bron said that [expletive] ain’t staying in my house.”

Separate planes. Separate houses.

Not for long, though.

Green and James saw a lot of each other on the court, too, during those thrilling Warriors vs. Cavaliers NBA Finals matchups during James’ time with Cleveland.

Those rivalries weren’t friendly, but years later, all is forgiven.

“Bron used to be like, ‘Man, why you guys dealing with this dude?’ So just me being around Rich and Mav, me and Bron naturally ended up being around each other more. And then we started to build a relationship because I realized dang, bro is really just like me. He uses the same lingo I use. He’s from a place just like me. And we started to build from there. But it started off hectic.”

Things could return to that hectic feeling if James’ Lakers meet up with Green’s Warriors in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs, which would be the case if Golden State defeats the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.

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