Draymond Green sat alone in the dark for several days after the NBA indefinitely suspended him for striking Jusuf Nurkić in the face during the Warriors' Dec. 12 loss to the Phoenix Suns at Footprint Center.
A man cave is where he spent the early days of his punishment, with only his wife Hazel knowing of his whereabouts. But one dark day shined a little brighter when Green received a FaceTime call from his young daughter.
"I sat in my man cave for two days and just sat there," Green shared on the latest episode of "The Draymond Green Show," which premiered Monday. "My kids didn't know I was home. The only person who really knew I was home was my wife. And my daughter, my three-year-old, FaceTimed me and she said, 'Daddy you're in the man cave.' And I said, 'I am.' And she just dropped the phone and came running back there and pulled me out.
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"[She] pulled me out into the yard and we played. And I'm not sure how much longer I would have sat back there, but I know it wouldn't have been the 14th [of December]. It was special because I was just sitting back there in the dark listening to what everyone had to say."
Green had plenty of time to listen to all the critics and outside noise while he sat alone at home.
From ESPN's Stephen A. Smith to former teammate Kevin Durant and other players weighing in on his situation, Green heard it all and made sure to take the time to reflect on what actually was being said.
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Had Green's toddler not approached him and forced him to leave his man cave, Green doesn't know how long he would have stayed hidden. And his daughter wasn't the only one who helped get his mind right, as Warriors coach Steve Kerr also paid him a visit shortly after the daughter-daddy playdate.
"Although I didn't stop listening to what people had to say, I realized I had to move forward that day," Green said. "And also on that day, coach Kerr came to visit me after shootaround. And we sat in the yard, he cried, I cried. Because there's a bond there that's seen it all -- the highest of the highs and the lowest of the lows."
The NBA reinstated Green on Saturday after he served a 12-game suspension. He now will shift his focus to returning to the court with his teammates in hopes of providing some leadership and steadiness to a wobbly 2023-24 season for the Warriors.
But as made clear during his suspension, basketball comes last. And that was ever so evident with the one special FaceTime call Green received on Dec. 14.
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