Breaking: How Steph ‘changed’ Adelaide 36ers import’s career… and the Draymond chat he won’t forget…See More

Being overlooked isn’t anything new for Adelaide 36ers import Kendric Davis.

He had “three or four” NBA teams tell him they were going to draft him in 2023. That didn’t happen.

He was then offered a starting role on Golden State’s Summer League team with the hope of securing one of the final spots on the Warriors’ roster. That didn’t happen either.

But when Davis found out he didn’t get that last roster spot, and was feeling “kind of down”, he shared a moment with four-time NBA champion Draymond Green.

“He had a talk with me,” Davis told foxsports.com.au.

“He said, ‘You’re going to play in the NBA. Everything happens for a reason… he was just like, ‘I just put my head down and I grinded’.”

Not that Davis didn’t already know that. A self-described “hard worker” who “prides himself on grinding”, Davis hasn’t got to where he is now without putting in the extra hours.

It is what earned him the respect of Warriors superstar Steph Curry, who to this day still texts Davis, offering words of encouragement, as if the 36-year-old sharpshooter’s career arc isn’t inspirational enough.

“Nobody thought Steph would be Steph Curry but he didn’t listen to the outside noise and just shocked the world and believed,” Davis said.

Green believed too and now he, once a second-round pick, is “going to be a future Hall of Famer”, as Davis put it.

And Klay Thompson. “Klay was drafted,” Davis said. “But didn’t nobody think Klay would be able to have this career”. So, why was he, why was Steph and why was Draymond able to do what they did?

“I think they believed,” added Davis, “just knowing if you believe in yourself, then everyone else will and if you don’t, nobody will.

“They just gave me the confidence to believe in myself. When you put the work in you can live with the results but when you don’t put the work in, you question if you could have worked harder.”

So, Davis gave the Warriors front office no reason to question him and, more importantly, gave himself no reason to question if he had done enough to play in the NBA.

The results showed on the court too as Davis averaged 18.7 points and 8.9 assists with the Santa Cruz Warriors, later named on the NBA G-League All-Rookie Team.

“Every day I just try to get better,” Davis said.

“Every day I try to leave the gym knowing I got better and usually I can live with the results as long as I work hard. I’m a grinder. I pride myself on grinding and I’m a winner.

“Everywhere I’ve been I’ve won. College, high school, everywhere.”

“I learned a lot from them,” Davis said.

“They helped me have a pretty good year down there just by taking me under their wing. They didn’t have to do that and I told Steph all the time, ‘Man, you’re one of the best human beings ever even for (mentoring me)’.

“He used to message me to come work out and just talked to me and it changed my career seeing how he works and how hard he works. It made me realise I’ve got even more levels to get better. They helped me become a better man and basketball player.