There was no doubt Draymond Green knew what he was doing when he appeared on the Dubs Talk podcast last week to make an unsolicited claim that he was the greatest defender in NBA history.
Green always has been one to motivate himself by speaking goals and expectations into existence, and this seemingly was another case of his confidence in backing up his words.
He also surely was aware that inflammatory comments like those would get the NBA world talking, and like clockwork, replays of the interview were discussed on all of the national TV, podcast and radio shows the following days.
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Many former NBA players chimed in to give their thoughts on Green's statement, including former Warriors great Baron Davis, who joined current NBC Sports Bay Area analyst Dorell Wright on the latest episode of the Dubs Talk podcast.
Did Baron think Draymond was right for saying he was the greatest?
"He's not supposed to say he not, you know what I mean?" Davis told Wright. "Draymond Green is playing right now, and the things he is doing, he has the accolades, he has the stats to back it up. He has the mouth to back it up, he's got the game to back it up. So in no way shape or form is he going to say he is second."
That is not to say that Davis agrees with Green's sentiment, however.
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"As far as ranking him defensively, I think in his era, he is one of the primary guys. All-time? No, I don't think so," Davis explained.
"When you start talking about all-time, it's like, there ain't no stats for that s--t! You really got to say though, if you're the greatest defender of all-time, I mean you're 6-foot-8, would you have been able to stop Tim Duncan? Would you have been able to stop Dirk Nowitzki? Would you have been able to stop Tracy McGrady? Would you have been able to stop [Michael] Jordan?"
"The greatest defender of all-time is a lot, but I like Draymond Green because he putting a lot on it. He made those statements for himself, ain't for nobody else but for him."
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Ranking players across eras can be a silly exercise in general, as there is no way to fully analyze how players would have succeeded in that time period, where everything from the rules of the game to the science behind workout routines were different. While Davis, and Green for that matter, understand that, it did not stop Davis from taking a humorous jab at the former Defensive Player of the Year.
"As far as ranking him, I think he is one of the best of his era. Can Draymond Green guard me? Absolutely not," Davis proclaimed. "He couldn't stop me in the summer league at UCLA two years ago, he got mad at me. I was locking him up, I was saying I was the 'Baby Draymond'. He kept calling fouls but he can't score on me. He tried to post me up, and I kept yelling "I'm Baby Draymond!" and he was getting pissed," Davis continued with his infectious laugh.
"I know what he is saying, you gotta have that confidence and I love him for it, and I think all-time he will go down as one of the greatest in his era, and he's not supposed to say nothing else while he is playing, that he is second to anybody. He just got to keep proving people wrong, and keep doing what he's doing, and his legacy is definitely there"
"But he can't guard me. Not even right now bro."