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Draymond: Warriors don't care about 'villain' label

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports / Reuters

In a matter of two seasons, the Golden State Warriors went from lovable League Pass staple, to evil empire that everyone loves to hate.

Having recruited 2014 MVP Kevin Durant to join two-time reigning MVP Stephen Curry on a team that won 73 games last season, the Warriors are now being billed as the villains of the league.

However, their foremost antagonist, Draymond Green, doesn't really care for that label.

"I think it's all how you look at it," Green told Chris Haynes of ESPN after practice on Sunday. "Some people say we're villains. I don't think we're really going into it saying we're villains, we need to do this. Who cares? It's like, it really doesn't matter what people try to make you play. It's about getting on the court, getting between these lines and performing.

"End of the day, what everybody else draws up, make you out to be, they can make you out to be whatever you want. If we're winning games or not winning games, that's what matters. So, I don't think this team is looking saying, 'Hey, villains, let's do it.' Nobody cares."

There are two factors fueling the "villain" narrative.

First, it's a natural reaction to superteams that also played out when the Big Three came together in South Beach. Not only can superteams steamroll the league, they also attract a nauseating degree of media exposure and dominate the spotlight.

Second, it's not hard to understand why the scissor-kicking Green is widely disliked. The brash forward lives to get under the skin of his opponents, and he put together a lowlight reel of dirty plays during last season's playoff run that ended up getting him suspended in the Finals.

But in the mind of Green, it's just a matter of haters gonna hate.

"Usually, when you’re doing something the right way, people hate," Green said. “Usually, when you’re doing something someone else wants to do, they hate. Usually, when there’s success, with success comes hate.

"That kind of just comes with the territory. It really doesn’t matter. KD being here definitely adds to that (villain narrative), but with the success we’ve had, people are going to hate us anyway. Like I said, it comes with the territory."

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