Draymond Green was clearly the most famous and successful active NBA player to launch a podcast during the initial wave of shows that came out at the end of the last decade.
As a result, Green often speaks as an unofficial gatekeeper in the space. And on the latest episode of The Draymond Green Show, the four-time NBA champion laid out his top-three current NBA player-hosted shows.
The list went as you might expect: the upstart Club 520, the classic All the Smoke, and the newcomer Mind the Game. Green, of course, ranked all of them behind his own show, fresh off a new deal with Audacy.
But Green’s impromptu list had one notable exception: Podcast P with Paul George. Ever since George went down with an injury near the end of a lost season for the Philadelphia 76ers, the veteran forward has been on hiatus from his podcast.
In Green’s mind, that is disqualifying. Quitting when “times get tough” is disgraceful behavior, Green added, contrasting George’s hiatus from his own experience recording shows day to day during the Golden State Warriors’ 2022 championship run.
“I must say, I love Podcast P,” Green began.
“I love that Podcast P finally showed the world his personality, who P is. I’ve known P for years now, and I think the first time the world really got to see who P is was through his podcast.
“But I can’t put P in my top-three no more, because as someone who went through a podcast and won a championship and took a beating for it all year, you can’t quit, P. So when the times get tough, you can’t gracefully bow out, P. You’ve gotta keep pushing through the rough times, because this is what we do. We podcast, too. You can’t take a break when the times get rough like that.”
When George announced his break, he said it was to get his mind and body right to do his part in getting the 76ers closer to a championship. George signed a huge four-year maximum contract in the summer of 2024 with Philadelphia, only for the 76ers to bottom out into the draft lottery due to injuries.
While some, such as Ryen Russillo, believe George made the right decision to get out of the limelight amid his and the team’s struggles, George was relentlessly teased on social media. For years, George has been seen by many NBA fans as phony; the podcasting hiatus didn’t help.
However, Green’s rant this week may be the best-ever example of a pot calling a kettle black. After all, Green is no stranger to taking a break from his media commitments when his playing career hits roadblocks.
When Green reportedly punched teammate Jordan Poole in the face during training camp in 2022, he did not record another episode of his podcast until early January. At that time, Green offered his account of the altercation and expressed remorse.
About a year later, Green was suspended indefinitely by the Warriors after striking center Jusuf Nurkic during a game in Phoenix. Already on a podcasting break at the start of that season, Green did not release another episode until Jan. 8, nearly a month after the altercation with Nurkic.
At that time, Green announced a new contract with The Volume and claimed he had contemplated retirement during the suspension.
We are so deep into the athlete podcast wormhole that stars like Green are getting into spitting contests over the frequency and timing of episode drops. Seemingly, Green is allowed to take breaks when he chooses, but George is knocked down a peg when he does the same.
As a reminder, George has still not returned from the knee injury that ended his season last year and has not played this season.