Draymond Green recently picked-up an ongoing, heated discussion about generational respect in basketball. Appearing on his podcast ‘The Draymond Green Show’ alongside former NBA star Baron Davis, Green pulled no punches when addressing what he perceives as a lack of mutual respect between past and present NBA eras.
Draymond Green: “People say you must respect each era, but the past eras don’t respect this era.”
Baron Davis: “I don’t think that’s true.”
Green: “S**t, me. You don’t see some of the things these guys say?”
Davis: “The respect from the old is really, do the young dudes fuck with us? Do they know who we are? That’s why you get a lot of hate from the older generation—because they just want to be kept alive.
One era always thinks that the other era is sorry, until you leave the game and have an appreciation for the talent that you had to play against.”
Green: “I disagree in the fact that, no, like these eras don’t respect us. Like, I’ve seen several guys talk over and over and over again—not in a positive light. I don’t think that respect is passed down to us from the other generations, but I think people are quick to say, ‘Oh, you got to respect them because they came before.’ I don’t agree with that.”
Davis: “You absolutely have to… absolutely respect the people who came before you.”
Green: “My respect is earned, and what you did to somebody else don’t necessarily earn you respect. Just because you played before me does not mean you deserve respect. I’m sorry, but God had in his plan for you to be born before me, and you just deserve respect because of that? Nah, my mama ain’t raise me that way. Respect is earned.”
“People say you should respect each era, but the past eras don’t respect this era” @Money23Green and @BaronDavis debate how respect should be earned, not given, to players from different eras. pic.twitter.com/PdCoxCcxuN
— The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis (@DraymondShow) April 1, 2025
This back-and-forth highlighted a common tension in sports: the generational divide. Davis observed that it often takes time and reflection for players to truly appreciate the talent and competition of their era. Yet, Green was resolute in his view that respect is not an entitlement based on chronology.
For Green, the expectation that today’s players owe automatic deference to their predecessors is misplaced. He argued that while younger generations are often called upon to honor the past, the older generation doesn’t always reciprocate with respect for the present.
Green’s remarks touch on a broader debate about legacy, humility, and acknowledgment in professional sports. While respect for tradition is often seen as a cornerstone of any sport’s culture, Green’s perspective questions whether this reverence is always merited or whether it should be earned on an individual basis.
The tension between honoring the past and championing the present is a familiar narrative across all sports, but in the NBA, it takes on a unique flavor due to its highly visible personalities and evolving style of play.
