We hear about the Splash Brothers incessantly, and rightfully so. Steph Curry and Klay Thompson are not just elite players, but extremely fun to watch. They overshadow Draymond Green to some extent. Green matters a lot to the Golden State Warriors and will end up being one of the biggest impact players in this Western Conference Finals.
The Warriors allowed a league-low 98.2 points per 100 possessions, a defensive rating that dropped to 96.0 with Green on the court and increased to 102.1 with him off the court.
Green ranked 14th in the NBA in defensive rebounding (6.7 per game) and was named to NBA all-defensive team
So Green didn’t win the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award, even though he got the most first place votes of anyone. He’s still a versatile, do it all kind of player. Part of the reason the GSW offense flows so well is that you have such a great passing big man in Green.
He’s Charles Barkleyeqsue with the ability to truly excel on defense, pass and rebound. After Illinois lost to Michigan State, then Illini Coach Bruce Weber compared Green to Barkley, at least in body type. Green is not Barkley, but there are some similarities.
ESPN NBA analysts Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson, also former Warriors head coach, took part in an ESPN media call to discuss the 2015 NBA Western Conference Finals. I asked them about Draymond Green, and player comparisons.
JACKSON: “Draymond Green is an outstanding player, does so many different things that put you in position to win basketball games on both sides of the floor. His ability to defend 1 through 5 and do it at a high level, I think his competitive spirit is contagious and these things have been consistent if you go back in time and watch him, whether it be in college or even before that. The things you see him do on the floor today are the same things that you saw him do as a rookie that allowed us to advance in a playoff round against a 57 win team, so he’s that good of a player.”
“I’m not going to disrespect one of the greatest power forwards ever to play the game and Hall of Famer Charles Barkley, I don’t think that’s fair, but Draymond Green is a heck of a basketball player.”
VAN GUNDY: “I think he had some weight issues that he got corrected, his shooting has improved, but you don’t find great competitors like him. A lot of teams are probably kicking themselves for bypassing someone who was a proven player.”
“Just because he was a senior didn’t mean he couldn’t improve more, but often times these guys who play through their senior year in college are looked at as finished products versus guys who just still have a lot of growth, and I think people obviously don’t know how good Draymond Green could be because they underestimated the importance of competitive spirit in basketball IQ.”
Also, here’s a Draymond Green throwback Thursday for you:
The self-proclaimed “Spartan Dawg” sat down with us and chatted about why “flying commercial” was the toughest challenge of the NBA Draft process.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with Fox Sports Digital. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes to the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. He also appears regularly on numerous sports talk radio stations all across the country.
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