Warriors' Draymond Green believes he's best defender in NBA history

Share

Programming note: Watch the pregame edition of Warriors Outsiders on Saturday afternoon at 4:30, streaming live on the MyTeams app.

Draymond Green won the Defensive Player of the Year award in 2017.

In 2015 and 2016, he finished runner-up to Kawhi Leonard.

And in the playoffs, he takes his defense to a whole another level and becomes even more dominant on that end of the floor.

After the Warriors' Game 2 Western Conference finals win over the Blazers, the three-time All-Star let it be known just how confident he really is.

Marcus Thompson of The Athletic has the details:

“The best ever defender?” Green said.

“Me.”

The best defender ever?

“Me.” Green punctuated his declaration with a nod as he strutted out of the locker room with a smile. But he wasn’t joking. “That’s what I believe. Wholeheartedly.”

That's the mindset he should possess. But the reality is that Draymond is still very much in the middle of his prime and it's way too early to make the case that he is the best defender of all-time.

But when you just focus on the present, there is simply nobody in the league who can guard all five positions like Draymond.

On Thursday night against Portland, his defensive metrics were incredible:
-10 defensive rebounds
-5 blocks
-19 contested shots (the next closest Warrior contested seven shots)

He also did stuff like this:

Additionally, the Blazers went 1-for-8 at the rim against the two-time All-NBA selection:

[RELATEDNBA says Iguodala did not foul Lillard in closing seconds]

Warriors fans should never take for granted the fact they get to watch Draymond on a nightly basis. He, like Steph Curry, has revolutionized the way people look at basketball.

Not bad for the No. 35 pick in the 2012 NBA Draft.

Follow @DrewShiller on Twitter and Instagram

Contact Us