Stephen Curry walked off the court, grimacing and caressing his hamstring in Game 1 of Round 2 against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Dub Nation knew it was a done deal for the team. However, hope—that one word—kept them going until Game 5. And just the way Anthony Edwards and company packed the Lakers in five games in Round 1, the same fate awaited the Warriors. Nonetheless, as they entered a prolonged offseason, Draymond Green reflected on their second-round games, bringing back a series of memories from 2019.

With Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant out with torn ACLs, the 2019 Warriors faced the Toronto Raptors in the Finals. Meanwhile, the Warriors vs. Wolves playoffs felt the same; this time, Curry was on the sidelines. Green admitted that the Minnesota series reminded him, “A lot of the Toronto series.”

Draymond Green goes 6 years into the past as the T’Wolves pack them as a second-round team

In 2019, Kawhi Leonard and the Toronto Raptors became the first Canadian team to win the NBA Championship. A first, not just for Canada, but also for the likes of OG Anunoby and Norman Powell. But what did Draymond Green mean when he said that the Wolves series reminded him of the Dubs’ 2019 Finals run? The 35-year-old forward explained: “What I mean by that is matchups are extremely important, offensively and defensively. The matchups are extremely important to the outcome of that game. There are some series where you can lose a guy, be without a guy, and still win based on the matchup with those teams. When we lost to Toronto, one injury changed all of the matchups.”

As mentioned before, KD and Klay were out with ACL injuries, leaving Steph and others to suffer a 4-2 record. Despite putting up a strong fight, the shift in offense and defense from the Raptors changed the trajectory of the series. Now, reflecting on the Wolves series, Draymond said, “For instance, Jaden McDaniels would be glued to Steph Curry the entire series—no question. That would be the guy they’d go to for Steph. If Jaden McDaniels is struggling or in foul trouble, the next guy they’d probably go to is Ant, who I think they’d put on Steph. If he gets in foul trouble and chases Steph around, then what that does to the rest of the matchups is vitally important to how these games play out.”

However, with no Steph around, McDaniels didn’t have to chase him. Instead, he went for Green or Jimmy Butler. “There were times when Ant was on me. They’re moving pieces around that you can’t necessarily move,” the 2017 DPOY admitted. Draymond Green could not help but draw a striking parallel. The Timberwolves reminded him of a painful chapter. “When we played Toronto—and why this series reminded me so much of that—Toronto had all of those same things.” It was the structure. The roles. The rhythm. It all came rushing back. They had depth at guard, wings off the bench, and a power forward in full bloom.

Minnesota mirrored that. From Mike Conley to Anthony Edwards to the second unit, it clicked in his mind. “They [Raptors] had point guard play, great wing play, and good wing play off the bench with Norman Powell and OG Anunoby.” He continued, “They had a really good power forward playing at an elite level in Pascal Siakam. Minnesota has a really good power forward playing at an elite level in Julius Randle.” That comparison? Hauntingly familiar. Simply put, Draymond saw the ghosts of 2019 in every matchup. The bigs bruised, the rhythm shifted, and suddenly it felt all too familiar. Rudy Gobert and Naz Reid echoed Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka. Nothing flashy, just timely damage. So the lineup dance began. Every move felt like a memory. And with years of battle behind him, Draymond instantly knew—this was not new, just reborn.

Rudy Gobert’s Game Brought Out a Major Confession From Green

Draymond Green, known for his physical gameplay, bluntly said, “They were physical for sure. But I’ll tell you, when playing in the game, that game wasn’t as physical as Houston. It wasn’t as physical because that’s what Houston has to do to stay in the game. When I say it wasn’t as physical, I’m telling you from experience—I’ve been in a million of these things—it was not as physical.” The game had playoff fire, no doubt. But the skill was on another planet. Houston’s gritty pace never showed up. Why? The ball danced. Players flowed. It felt more like jazz on a piano than chaos on a drum set.

“Houston is like beating a drum, whereas this is like the piano, like the guitar. It was fine, high-level, high-skill movement with playoff physicality for sure,” Green explained. “You’re in a playoff series, but it couldn’t reach that same physicality because there was too much motion. It was too much.” Draymond felt the heat, but it was not brute force. It was speed, skill, and chaos in motion. No time to wrestle. And no space to hold. However, the veteran noticed something that impressed him enough, and that was Rudy Gobert. Surprising, huh?

“I felt like they did a good job of moving Rudy Gobert around and taking advantage of his strengths,” Draymond Green confessed. “Often in playoff series, and this could be Finch, they had a year with Rudy last year, right? So they got a chance to go through it, see it, study it over the summer. Last year, when they were in the Western Conference Finals, I did the games with TNT and saw how Dallas was able to exploit Rudy Gobert. This year, I felt like they did a really good job of putting Rudy in positions to take advantage of his strengths because that falls upon coaching, for instance.” The Mavericks, precisely Luka Doncic, ravaged the 4x DPOY in the WCF last season, that step-back three in the last seconds of the decisive game!

Well, Draymond Green saw it all before it even began. The Timberwolves danced to a familiar tune, one that echoed Toronto in 2019. Only the faces had changed, not the heartbreak. From Steph’s absence to Rudy’s rise, the story unfolded in rhythm. And as the lights dimmed on this run, Green walked off knowing this was more than defeat. It was déjà vu.