David Zalubowski/Associated Press

Draymond Green Learned as a Rookie That Trash-Talking Tim Duncan Does No Good

Kyle Newport

Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green is not afraid to do some talking, but there is at least one player in the NBA whom he doesn't bother trying to mess with anymore.

That would be San Antonio Spurs legend Tim Duncan.

In a diary entry for ESPN's The Undefeated, Green noted the impact Duncan has had on basketball, even saying that the Spurs star is "arguably the greatest power forward of all time." Duncan has been superb throughout his storied career, but he goes about the game with a completely different style than Green.

As in he does very little talking on the court.

Green said that, as a rookie, he tried to trash-talk Duncan. Of course, it does no good to do that to someone who doesn't talk back:

I do have a Tim Duncan story. My rookie year I kind of talked junk to everybody. In the middle of the game I started talking to Tim, and I had already got into it with somebody on their team. I don't remember who it was. But I started talking to Tim and he kind of just stared at me. I just kept talking junk to him and he kept staring at me.

At that point I realized during the rest of my career that I might as well not talk to him. Either, one, he is not going to talk back because he has no respect for me. Or, two, he is not going to talk back because that is who he is. Or, three, both. I figured then that was the last time I would talk junk to Tim. And that was the last time.

Lesson learned.

There are some athletes who let smack talk get inside their heads. Not Tim Duncan. He's solid as a rock and won't let anything get to him. To make matters worse for the opponent, he won't even respond to trash talk. And that just adds to Duncan's mystique.

   

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