Draymond Green’s sideline chat with Darius Acuff Jr. turned into one of the talking points from Saturday’s preseason game, and the Warriors veteran later explained exactly what he was trying to get across.
Green said the message to the Sacramento Kings rookie had nothing to do with scoring or flashy play. It was about how quickly things can get sideways when a young guard starts piling up possessions without getting others involved.
Draymond Green on what he told Darius Acuff Jr. during Saturday's Warriors vs. Kings preseason game, via @DraymondShow:
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 13, 2026
"I saw something in that game that he had the ball the entire possession... my advice to him was just, 'Hey man, you remember that possession? ... who else… https://t.co/aj7emQeypn
“I saw something in that game that he had the ball the entire possession… my advice to him was just, ‘Hey man, you remember that possession? … who else touched the ball that possession?', he's like ‘nobody' and I was like ‘don't have many of those' because you can end up having a bunch of those with the Sacramento Kings this year and a few things can happen, you can get guys start plotting against you, guys that don't really wanna see you do well, guys that start bickering on the side to other guys…”
Green added that teammates can turn on a rookie if they think too much of the offense is being funneled through him.
“…you can get guys that get upset like ‘aahh man they wanna give this rookie this, they wanna do that, f*ck that!'… and so for me when I saw that, I just wanted to give him a little game about that.”
The exchange came during Golden State’s 111-106 win over Sacramento, when Green was seen talking to Acuff along the sideline. The moment spread quickly online, which led Green to break it down on the latest episode of The Draymond Green Show.
Acuff, the No. 7 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, still put together a strong night in the loss. He finished with 25 points, eight assists and four rebounds in 27 minutes, shooting 8-for-15 from the field and 4-for-6 from 3-point range. He also made all five of his free throw attempts.
For Sacramento, it was an encouraging look at what Acuff can bring offensively as the 2026-27 regular season approaches. For Green, it was another example of a veteran trying to pass along the kind of lesson that comes from years of sharing the floor with Stephen Curry and other established stars.
For Acuff, the conversation offered a chance to hear from one of the league’s most experienced voices before his first NBA season gets going.
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