As the embodiment of the characteristics of grit and tenacity, Green’s defensive prowess is noticeable to anyone who has seen a few minutes of a Golden State Warriors game.
Averaging 1.4 blocks and 2.0 steals per game this season, the 6’7”, 230-pound forward has shown the versatility to defend a variety of players over the years, including wings, power forwards and traditional centers.
After Green posted 19 points, 12 rebounds, nine assists, five blocks and three steals over 37 minutes in Golden State’s Game 1 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers in the opening round of the playoffs, NBA Hall of Famer Gary Payton spoke with Tyler Conway of Bleacher Report, explaining his love for Green’s tenacity on the defensive end.
When picking between Green, Kawhi Leonard and Rudy Gobert (who are thought of as the main frontrunners) for this year’s Defensive Player of the Year award, Payton chose Green.
"With Draymond, he gives more energy to the Golden State Warriors, as he blocks shots, as he strips people, he takes on the challenge to go one-on-one with the best player and always does it,” Payton explained.
Payton likened the way Green changes the game to the way rim protectors have done in the past.
“He changes the game like a big man," Payton said. "When [Dikembe] Mutombo and Alonzo Mourning won their Defensive Player of the Year Award, they blocked shots and changed the game. [Green] does it on both ends of the floor. He can do it as a guard, and he can do it as a big man.”
Since Green is undersized for a traditional frontcourt player, Payton explained how he doesn’t let himself get abused by bigger and taller players, who often times tower over him by many inches.
"When Draymond has a bigger guy on him, he doesn't allow the big person to get an advantage on him. He doesn't sit in the back and let him post him up. He'll be moving around, and that gives him an advantage because he can steal the basketball. He's got great hands, and that's what he does best. That's what you have to do when you're undersized and your weight isn't the same,” the NBA legend said.
Payton also sees some of his own game in what Draymond does on a nightly basis.
"I see my intensity and my fire in Draymond," Payton noted. "He's getting into people's faces, D'ing it up and backing up the intensity when he does it.”
It remains to be seen whether or not Leonard, the back-to-back winner of the award, will lose his crown to Green,who has put himself in position to win the award though his remarkable play all season long.
If not, at least he received the endorsement of one of the best players to ever step on the NBA hardwood.
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