DRAYMOND GREEN IS THE IDEAL 16-GAME PLAYER
Draymond Green is a winner.
A three-time champion. Green understands how to rise to the occasion and how to inspire his teammates to pursue greatness with as much fervor as he does. He knows that winning isn’t easy—despite the fact that, at times, the Golden State Warriors have made it look that way—and that the journey to a title begins when no one is looking, long before the tip-off.
Reaching the mountain top requires more than just talent; it’s about being as mentally prepared as you are physically. It’s adapting to adversity, possessing a high IQ, and doing whatever it takes to gain an edge.
After celebrating his second consecutive championship, Green reportedly told GM Bob Myers and the front office to draft “16-game players,” guys who are ready to elevate their game and contribute to the ultimate goal rather than produce in the regular season with no desire to chase something bigger.
Draymond Green knows what 16-game players are and the importance of having them because he’s one of the greatest of all-time.
When the lights are brightest, Green has proved that he deserves to be in the same conversation as the game’s most legendary figures time and time again; his 2019 playoff run has silenced any remaining critics.
Dealing with injuries, team drama, and the mental fatigue of four straight trips to the NBA Finals, Green had a relatively subpar season and it affected the entire team as the Warriors struggled to find any kind of consistent rhythm during the regular season.
But 16-game players are just wired differently.
So on March 6th, Green made a concerted effort to get himself right for the playoffs. The Athletic’s Marcus Thompson reported that the former Defensive Player of the Year shed 23 pounds in the six weeks leading up to the playoffs.
Now in shape and healthy, Green has been absolutely dominant in the postseason, especially in the Western Conference Finals.
Green is leading the playoffs in assists and blocks. He’s third in rebounds and fifth in steals. He’s also shooting a playoff career-high from the field, knocking down 51.9 percent of his shots.
In the four full games since Kevin Durant went down with injury, he’s averaged 14 points, 10.8 rebounds, 7.8 assists, 1.8 steals, and 2.5 blocks per game on 52 percent shooting.
His numbers show that he’s been phenomenal, but they still don’t encapsulate just how spectacular he’s been. Defensively, he’s ben a nightmare for the opposition.
Half-jokingly declaring himself the greatest defensive player ever, his Game 3 performance against the Portland Trailblazers was the perfect way to back that up. He was everywhere on the floor, rotating to shooters, protecting the rim, and directing traffic in ways that few players in NBA history ever could.
Green is the league’s premier 16-game player, displaying the type of leadership that every team wants and needs.
Trailing by eight in the third quarter in Game 3, Green found Jordan Bell for a wide open dunk, which the second year player somehow missed and effectively killed the Warriors’ momentum.
The blunder came at the worst time for Golden State and it could have completely derailed Bell and the team’s comeback hopes, but Green settled everything down.
The TV broadcast caught Green re-assuring that the mistake is nothing to worry about because it was only one missed shot and the entire team had missed attempts at some point.
What makes Green the perfect leader for a team with championship aspirations is that it wasn’t all just talk. He didn’t perform for the cameras that he knew were on him; he genuinely wanted to instill confidence in his young big man.
And, shortly after, he trusted him once again, finding him on the break for another dunk attempt which Bell threw down with force.
Green has done everything he can to will this team to victory in the face of adversity.
When Durant went down, he knew that he had to step up. When Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson struggled to find their shots in the first half, he put the team on his back and kept them going until his All-Star teammates were ready to help him take control of the game and series.
He doesn’t just provide energy, he is energy.
After Game 3, he told the media that “When I finish the playoffs ever year, I’m exhausted. And more so mentally than physically because I view these games like life or death.”
Green will never win a regular season MVP. He’ll never be a team’s first scoring option and he’ll never be “the guy,” but being an elite 16-game player is even more important. No one can ever say that Green gives up.
Unlike some of the league’s biggest stars, Green refuses to go down without a fight. He’ll leave everything on the floor, just like he did in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals where he scored 32 points on 73 percent shooting, grabbed 15 rebounds, and dished out 9 assists while knocking down a game-high six three-pointers.
The bigger the stage, the higher the stakes, and the greater the obstacle and the best version of Green seems to come out.
There’s nothing wrong with being an 82-game player; there are plenty of amazing stars who have played at a high level during the regular season for years before flaming out in the postseason. Green isn’t that guy.
Draymond Green is the type of leader and warrior (no pun intended) that you want suiting up for you when the games mean something and history is on the line. He doesn’t rely on antics or prioritize talent over effort; he just gets it done.
The NBA’s false prophets—stars whose regular season conquests provide false hope that their philosophies can translate to playoff success—are proven to be merely illusionists when their tricks fail in the postseason time and time again.
Those players sell jerseys and can win 45-50 games with relative ease, but bigger ambitions and basketball immortality require 16-game players.
And Draymond Green is one of the greatest ever at putting his team in position to hoist a Larry O’Brien trophy.