Draymond Green blatantly excludes Timberwolves from Western Conference contenders

Green's disdain for Minnesota continues to be obvious.

NBA Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green | Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

We're one week into the NBA season, and veteran Warriors forward Draymond Green's hatred for the Timberwolves is already showing.

Green hopped on his own podcast, The Draymond Green Show, to talk about the current state of the NBA on Tuesday and believes he already knows who the true contenders are in the Western Conference.

"If you cannot see, at every night, the Western Conference is going to be a bloodbath," Green said.

"When I look at the conference. I think the true contenders are OKC, your's truly the Dubs... Denver... and then I think you gotta look at both L.A. teams.... Those are the teams that I see, right now out the gate, where I am like, 'Yeah, I think those are the contenders in the West.'"

May 12, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) dribbles the ball against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the fourth quarter during game four of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images | Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

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Latest betting odds from FanDuel Sportsbook agree with Green's contenders list, but there are two major omissions. The Thunder, Nuggets and Warriors have the three best odds to win the conference, but the Rockets are tied for No. 4, and Green did not mention Houston.

The Lakers and Clippers round out the top six, but Green did not mention the Timberwolves, who have made back-to-back trips to the Western Conference Finals. Green's feud with Minnesota and Rudy Gobert has been ongoing for years, so leaving the Wolves off shouldn't come as too much of a surprise.

The Timberwolves have gotten off to a 2-2 start, and superstar guard Anthony Edwards is currently nursing a hamstring injury. It's far too early to make any sweeping conclusions from regular-season action, which makes Green's omission of Minnesota even more blatant.

The Wolves shook up their core before the 2024-25 season, and they still made consecutive trips to the conference finals. Nickeil Alexander-Walker was the only significant departure from last year's team, and now they're no longer "contenders?" The Clippers have one conference finals appearence in their entire franchise's history, but they routinely find themselves in the contender discussion.

Green mentioned how important health is in order to make a deep postseason run, which is something Minnesota has benefited from in each of the last two seasons. The Wolves' first matchup with Green and the Warriors will come on January 24 at the Target Center.

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