On the latest episode of The Draymond Green Show, the Golden State Warriors forward weighed in on Doc Rivers' criticism of Giannis Antetokounmpo as a basketball player. Rivers was a guest on Bill Simmons' podcast and alleged that the two-time MVP doesn't have a high basketball IQ, that he's tough to coach, and that he only plays one specific way.
Draymond responds to Doc Rivers/Doug Christie taking shots at Giannis
"Talking about a top 20, top 30, whatever you wanna say Giannis is on the all time rankings, like that is crazy, if coaches gonna get to the point to where coaches start talking crazy, players should start… pic.twitter.com/HqTHOinNjp
— The Draymond Green Show (@DraymondShow) November 12, 2026
Green said Rivers’ comments about Giannis Antetokounmpo are similar to what Mark Jackson has said, but that questioning his IQ and execution makes them sound like personal shots, though he doesn’t think Rivers meant it that way.
“When Doc says this, it’s similar to Mark Jackson saying that, except when you start saying he doesn’t have a super high IQ, he doesn’t understand execution, those then come off and allow people to take them as personal shots. But I’ll be honest, I don’t think Doc was really taking a shot at him. It definitely came off that way, though.”
Green said it’s out of line to talk about Antetokounmpo’s all-time standing that way, and he warned that players could respond in kind if coaches go there.
Article Continues Below“Talking about a top 20, top 30, whatever you wanna say Giannis is on the all-time rankings, that is crazy. If coaches gonna get to the point to where coaches start talking crazy, players should start talking crazy about coaches too.”
He then gave an example of what that could look like if the barrier between players and coaches disappears.
“If that barrier’s not gonna be upheld, then the way players speak about coaches, what’s the difference? Why wouldn’t players go in interviews and be like, ‘Yo, Doug Christie sucked last night. Look what happened to their team. They weren’t weak side low help.’ That’s an indictment on a coach. And so I’d say be very careful with all the Giannis dialogue.”