Draymond Green is deep in East Oakland on the corner of 87th Avenue and International Boulevard. On the same block as the headquarters of East Bay Dragons motorcycle club, KJ's Barbershop is having a grand opening for its new location. Green is the star attraction.
"You ain't never been this deep in the east," Green says, taunting co-owner Lionel Harris, a celebrity barber most know as Brownie Blendz. Harris laughs. He tells Green to go even deeper in East Oakland if he wants to find his old stomping grounds. Harris grew up near 35th Avenue but spent summers as a youth with his aunt in the 98th Avenue area.
There is an implication in Green's playful jab. He knows he is in the forgotten parts. This area doesn't fit the trendy vibe of Oakland, hasn't been coated with the gloss of gentrification. The people here wage war with poverty in the shadows of the metropolis. Children find refuge in the Boys & Girls Club across the street, one block north, and parents buy groceries two blocks south at Food King, a towering symbol of the food desert they're in.
Construction adds to the unkemptness of the area. The struggle in these parts is visible in the pavement, where the grime has built like plaque on the sidewalk and streets. Graffiti over here isn't fancy art. The gathering is marked by its unrefinement, a chaos of excitement unlike the buttoned-up appearances he makes with the Warriors. Yet Green is loving this. His vibe doesn't come off as obligatory, but familial. He can put on a good face, glad hand with the best of them. But there is a liveliness to him. Security is present but not buffering him. People are just coming up to him and walking away even more enamored.
Green was supposed to leave at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday. He had a massage scheduled. But it is after 1 p.m. and he is still here, taking photos and giving hugs. He called to push back his massage. Green knows exactly where he is and is intentionally bridging the gulf created by his fame and riches.
"I'm on something way bigger than basketball," Green says. "I think the year of 2016 just changed my life. All the things that went down that year, as far as how basketball went and all the things that happened personally, it had just like a snowball effect that became an avalanche. Then at the end of the year, my son came, you know. It's like from now on, nothing I do is about me. Everything I do at that point is about creating a legacy."
As much as Stephen Curry's aggressiveness has marked the start of the Warriors' season, so has Green's play. His defense has been sensational. He took over with his defense in the fourth quarter against Minnesota on Friday night. Playing center, he quarterbacked an aggressive help defense while also limiting Karl-Anthony Towns inside and thwarting Andrew Wiggins on the perimeter. It was a shining example of Green's engagement on defense.
He wants another Defensive Player of the Year trophy. But something bigger is happening. It is evident in the way he is pushing the ball, taking the pace and aggressiveness in his hands. It is evident in the full-throttle nature of his leadership. In the same game, he can be found mentoring Jordan Bell, working out defensive coverages with Kevin Durant, feeding Damian Jones with lobs and imploring Curry to run off of a screen he is setting.
This is Green's legacy play, maximizing what he has right now. His growth has taught him his purpose is fulfilled in the giving of himself. To his teammates. To what they have built. To the game.
Draymond Green is averaging 8.4 points, 8.5 assists and 7.5 rebounds with 2.0 steals so far this season. (Russ Isabella/USA TODAY Sports)
This is most evident in his relationship with DeMarcus Cousins. The new big man is a ways from returning, but Green is heavily invested. He is always talking with Cousins during games.
Green has a special kinship with Cousins. He believes Cousins has been miscast as a bad guy. Green knows how passion can run hot and burn you. But he knows Cousins to be a good guy with insane talent. So Green's mission is to help Cousins channel his passion in a way that is productive.
So Green stays in Cousins' ear. Keeps him engaged. Gets hype with him. Explains to him what is happening and why they do things. He wants to help Cousins become a winner, the sure-fire way to shake his reputation.
"That's something I want to help him with — not that it makes him any less of a man, or any less than me," Green explains as he leans on the wall outside the barbershop, relaxed like one who grew up down the street. "It's just along our walks and journeys of life, I think different people come in and out of our life for different reasons. There aren't many people in this league more talented than Boogie. So how does he take that next step? Sometimes it takes somebody that come in your life that really don't care if you like it or not. And I really don't care if he like what I say or not. I've got the utmost respect for him and I think he's got the utmost respect for me. It ain't going to always be pretty. But when you reach that end goal, it's the best feeling in the world and it builds bonds that are created forever."
Inside the barbershop is a party. Free haircuts are happening. A DJ has the music thumping, next to him a spread of food.
One man comes up to Green, shakes his hand and they chat. He asks for a picture and Green obliges. The interaction is so friendly, he troubles Green for another photo request, with his child. Wait, one more. The man calls for his mother. Green isn't bothered at all.
He takes pride in being there, among this element. There are no TV cameras. This won't knock off one of his appearance obligations with the Warriors. This isn't even related to his endorsements.
The owners of KJ's Barbershop have developed a franchise by serving the people from the inner city who have moved out to the suburbs. They have shops in Tracy, Hayward and Brentwood. It's a lucrative model especially since the metropolitan areas are becoming so expensive residents have no choice but to relocate to the outskirts. They bring expert barbers to the 'burbs where the clientele is ripe.
But they decided to open a shop in Oakland, establish a presence in the areas they used to roam, serve those who can't flee to the 'burbs. That was all Green needed to hear.
Perhaps the best portrait of Green was the one on display this Saturday afternoon. He has done a million events, but the ones that really light him up are the ones where he can touch the people, especially when those people are disenfranchised or less fortunate. He really lathers on the love. He shakes the hands of kids like they see each other daily. He kisses mothers on the cheek like they used to give him candy when he was a kid. His guard is completely down when he meets young men with the street's aura. He transitions into a dude from Saginaw who can talk the talk.
It is obvious he wants to be extra impressive. He is intentionally overwhelming them with his down-to-earthiness so they remember the time they met Draymond. This is bigger than basketball. When his career is over, or even his tenure in the Bay, he wants to be known as one who never forgot the forgotten. He wants to be remembered for being touchable, being approachable, being tangible — especially in these parts.
"It was nothing but smiles and good vibes," co-owner Joe Cannon said. "Everyone was talking about how humble of a guy Mr. Draymond Green is. It's beyond impressive to have a champion in the sport of basketball who loves the game but even more loves the people. The community was very grateful for the cuts and even more for him showing up taking pictures and signing autographs. It wasn't a hi-and-bye. He hung out for a while, embracing the community like a regular guy. It was astonishing."
Draymond Green spent a couple of hours at the grand opening of KJ's Barbershop in Oakland mingling with the community. (Noah Graham/Special to the Athletic via @NoahGPhotos)
Even on the court, it's bigger than basketball. Green's maturity teaches him not to take for granted what the Warriors have. He doesn't want to look back with regrets. And for him, that means aggressively maximizing his part of this basketball monster they created. No pacing himself this season. No back seat.
The idea of Green legacy shopping might be comforting to Warriors fans who want this dynasty to continue. Green is so invested in the conglomeration of the four All-Stars. He was the chief recruiter of Durant and is one of the closest to Durant on the team. He also has a special relationship with Curry. Green's defense anchors the whole thing.
This matters because Green might end up the determining factor if the quartet stays together. He is the last one to be a free agent. If both Klay Thompson and Durant return next season, it will be on Green.
He can't leave this, right? His fingerprints are all over this.
Hold that thought. Green stands up and tells a story about seeing Kobe Bryant in the preseason. He asked Bryant about retirement and the response added a new perspective to Green's legacy bent.
"He was like, 'Great. Great.' I'm sitting there looking at him," Green says, pausing to emphasize the stare. "Kobe probably loved basketball more than anybody. And if not basketball, he loved competing more than anybody. And yet he was like, 'It's the best. I do whatever the fukk I want to do. I travel. I get a chance to still make money. I get a chance to do other things I want to do in my life and it's great.'
"That's because when Kobe left this game he didn't have anything left. Kobe is not spending one day thinking, 'I should have.' He gave everything he had. That's how I feel about what we've got and whenever this ends. Whether it's this year or if it's five years from now, I know that I will have given this everything I've got to give and I can live with that."
