Draymond Green Talks Up Idea Of Coaching Michigan State After Tom Izzo Retires

Draymond Green is in the midst of his 14th season in the NBA and will be on the wrong side of 35 years old in early 2026, so contemplating what's next in life is normal at this point in his career. While most would assume that Green would go all-in with a media career when he eventually calls it quits in the NBA, there is another endeavor that may pique his interest as well.

During a mailbag segment of his most-recent podcast episode, Green was asked by a listener if he had any thoughts about potentially coaching at Michigan State, his alma mater, once Tom Izzo retires.

While the idea of Michigan State handing the head coaching gig over to Green, who has exactly zero coaching experience, after one of the greatest college hoops coaches of all time calls it quits is bonkers, the big man entertained the thought.

"I think number one, and most importantly, it must be someone with Spartan ties. You must be either you grow up as a Spartan, you played for the Spartans. You must have Spartan ties because our culture must matter," Green began. "And the only way the culture continues to grow and matter and stay, you know, to the level of what coaches have built, not only to the level, but continue to grow is to have a Spartan in place that cares about our Spartan culture.

Draymond Green isn't completely out on the idea of coaching at Michigan State one day. ( Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports)

"If you're not a Spartan, you don't really care about the culture. You don't lean into that culture that's been built. So, I think whoever the candidate is has to be a Spartan. As far as myself, I've always said, 'Hell no, I'm not coaching college basketball.' The reality is, as I get older, the more I think about it, the more I look at the landscape,  it's not a ‘hell no' like it used to be. 

"So I won't rule out one day coaching Michigan State. Because the one thing that's for certain is I absolutely love Michigan State. I absolutely love the Spartans. Everything about our school, university, our programs, I love. So, I won't say no. Right now, I don't foresee it happening, but to say the answer is no, I won't…Maybe one day, because I love Michigan State and anything that I can do to help that program, I'm usually willing to do."

Izzo has coached over 1,050 games at Michigan State since taking over the program ahead of the 1995 college hoops season. 

Green played four seasons in East Lansing under Izzo, with his senior campaign being a breakout one for the forward. He was a consensus All-American during the 2011-12 season and became just the 10th Spartan ever to have his jersey retired back in December 2019.