Doubted no more, Green has arrived
With unrivaled versatility, he’s elevated game and silenced all the critics
TORONTO — Draymond Green arrived at the Sheraton Hotel here Thursday and told his representative that he was willing to fill all requests along the NBA All- Star Game’s mediarow “car wash.”
He used the better part of the next hour bouncing from TV interviews to radio interviews and back, beaming the whole way and occasionally making brief stops to breathe in his surroundings.
“I’m looking forward to taking in the whole experience,” the Warriors’ power forward said. “… I always wanted to get here, but I didn’t know how to really make it happen.”
In a whirlwind 3 ½ years, Green has evolved from a doubted and overlooked
second- round pick to a nodoubt All- Star who is one of the most vital pieces of a historically great Warriors team.
“I don’t think there is anybody in the league who can defend as many positions as well as he defends different positions,” said ESPN analyst P. J. Carlesimo, who coached 13 seasons in the NBA, including head gigs with Portland, Golden State, Seattle/ Oklahoma City and Brooklyn. “On top of that, he’s become such a knockdown, three- point shooter and a great decision- maker in the pick- and- rolls and in transition.
“He’s literally elevated his game each year, and that’s the thing that’s really impressive to me.”
According to most scouts, Green had a long way to go — even after a four- year career at Michigan State that ended with Big Ten and NABC National Player of the Year honors. Green finished his college career as the Spartans’ all- time leader in rebounds ( 1,096) and was second in blocked shots ( 117) and steals ( 180).
Still, his 6- foot- 7, 230- pound frame created a plethora of questions about his transition to the professional game before the 2012 NBA draft.
DraftExpress. com wrote: “Unfortunately, Green’s defensive deficiencies have become even more pronounced as a senior. He is too small to guard elite post players and lacks the lateral quickness to defend perimeter players. While his effort and aggressiveness will never be questioned, it is difficult to project him as an adequate NBA defender at this time.”
NBADraft. net wrote: “One of those great college basketball players that doesn’t excel in any one particular area. ... Tweener, undersized for a physical forward yet lacks the athleticism of a wing. … Minimal upside.”
‘ Something to say’
When the Warriors used the third of their four 2012 picks to select Green after he had been passed 34 times, then- head coach Mark Jackson started receiving call after call offering commendation. The folks on the other ends of those phones weren’t NBA scouts or decisionmakers, but pastors and deacons.
On the first day of practice, with the players huddled around him, Jackson asked for a volunteer to pray for the team. Green jumped at the chance.
“Sometimes rookies are scared to talk,” Jackson said. “Draymond had something to say.”
He hasn’t stopped talking since. He talks in detail about the negative scouting reports, remembers coming off the bench behind Jeremy Tyler during the 2012 Las Vegas Summer League and knows he really didn’t get a chance to showcase his array of skills until two- time All- Star David Lee was injured at the start of last season.
“I hear what everybody has to say, and I do what I have to do about that,” Green said.
He does it for his team, too. He makes sure the Warriors are aware of every real and created slight and consistently finds ways to motivate the team to get greedy about winning in dominating fashion.
Curry’s tribute
“You’re the voice of this team,” Warriors point guard Stephen Curry told Green during his MVP speech. “Your voice and your spirit every single day, whether it’s going well, whether you’re making shots or missing shots, it doesn’t matter. You’re the same person, and we can count on that every single night.
“That’s what makes you who you are as a part of your story and your journey.”
A statistical analysis of Green’s journey is pretty simple. He just keeps getting better.
He bumped his rookie averages of 3.3 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.7 assists to 6.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists as a sophomore. Last season, he jumped to 11.7 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists, and this season, he’s putting himself among elite company.
Green has averaged 14.2 points, 9.5 rebounds and 7.2 assists, while racking up a league- leading 10 triple- doubles. His passing from the power forward and center positions is what really catapults him into a grouping with the league’s all- time greats.
Green leads all forwards in assists and is averaging more of them than any other forward in Warriors history. He’s trying to become only the sixth non-guard in NBA history to average at least seven assists in a season, joining Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, LeBron James, John Havlicek and Grant Hill.
“I love it. I’m actually jealous,” said TNT analyst Chris Webber, one of his era’s top passing big men. “I watch him play and I see some of the passes he makes. I love how he plays. He’s a player that I would want to play with.
“He plays with a certain attitude. He’s not just the biggest competitor or the guy who talks all the time. He’s the ultimate glue. He’s stubborn. He plays like he doesn’t think he’s better than anyone, but he knows there’s no one who is better than him.”
Summer studies
During the Warriors’ shootaround to prepare for their Jan. 25 showdown with San Antonio, the team was sitting around and discussing potential matchups with All- Star power forward LaMarcus Aldridge. Green ended the conversation by saying, “I got him,” then limited Aldridge to five points on 2- of- 9 shooting.
Green worked on his ballhandling all summer, believing that if it became second nature, his innate court vision would stand out. He studied video of passes he missed, passes he delivered too late or too early and passes that arrived in awkward spots for a teammate to receive.
His studies went further as he consumed the movements of all five positions. Knowing what everyone should be doing helps him hold teammates accountable for their responsibilities, like a coach on the floor, according to Warriors backup big man Marreese Speights.
“The guy really is a coach’s dream,” former Warriors assistant coach Alvin Gentry said. “You can’t place a value on that. Use every cliche you can. His teams always win. The squad you put him on in a scrimmage, his team is going to win.”
Add in his never- ending toughness and tenacity, and there’s a scouting report that probably should have been written about Green in 2012 — 3 ½ years before he fought his way into the All- Star Game.