The upcoming season will prove to be a career year for 'Swiss Army Knife' Draymond Green

The world loves controversy, whether it be reality television, politics, or social media. When it comes to the NBA, one of the biggest reality shows, controversy is the spark that can create legends.

While Dennis Rodman was an elite defender and rebounder, his flamboyant antics accompanied by his bluntness with reporters created an essence that the NBA hadn’t seen and will never forget. Similar can be said for the Warriors’ Draymond Green.

Green has been a very vocal piece to the Warrior’s historical puzzle. Through his willingness to lead, he has also been the center of a plethora of controversies. From the infamous 2016 Finals suspension to courting Kevin Durant less than two hours after losing that same Finals, Green is no stranger to drama.

Despite his obvious value to the Warriors’ dynastic run, Green is still questioned by analysts and fans alike, partly because of his polarizing persona. Chris Webber, among other analyst, has been vocal about his opinions of Green’s abilities. Following a Warriors’ playoff victory in 2018, Webber expressed that he feels that Green is not a superstar, and on some teams, may not even start.

"If he was on other teams and expected to score, he might not be in the starting lineup on some teams," Webber said.

Green was asked about Webber’s comments immediately after the game.

"If I did have a scorer's mentality, it would throw all of this off. I've been an All-Star twice averaging 11 points,” Green told Ben Golliver of NBA.com. “He can't find many GMs or coaches saying I wouldn't start. My jewelry fit well."

Draymond Green has been the heart and hustle of the dynastic run the Golden State Warriors have embarked on through the past five years. His sacrifices have paid off substantially well, cementing his legacy as a future Hall of Famer.

This upcoming season, although, can be testing for Green. In past years he’s played a facilitator role, dishing out pitches to the Splash Brothers and quarterbacking their lethal pick and roll offense. This year, without Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant, Green will be expected to carry out his normal duties along with picking up his scoring contributions.


While this will be a foreign role for Green, the idea of getting the job done is not. Throughout his career with the Dubs, Green has been their Swiss Army Knife. If they needed leadership, he was taking Stephen Curry out for wine after tough shooting nights. If they needed a floor general, he was popping out triple doubles. If they needed a stop, he was gloving a Damien Lillard lay-up attempt. Whatever the job was, Green was always ready and able to fulfill it.

This year will be no different. In Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals, Green spilled out 32 points, 9 assists, and 15 rebounds in 47 minutes of play when the Splash Brothers were struggling. While the game didn’t go their way, Green’s ability to score was evident.

In college, he was the Michigan State Spartans leading scorer through 31 games, leading the Spartans to a number one seed in the NCAA March Madness Tournament.

Granted, at Michigan State Green was expected to score, with much of the offense centered around him. While the Golden State offense will be centered around Curry, Green will have long periods of time where he will be the primary or secondary option.

Kerr’s substitution pattern often featured Curry going to the bench mid first quarter, with Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant as the primary option for most of the quarter, until Durant went out towards the end of the quarter-- leaving Thompson as the primary option. This season Green will likely be playing that role along with D’Angelo Russell.

What makes Green more than capable of filling this role is his versatility. Although he’s undersized for his position, Green has shown numerous times that he is able to play the power forward position at a high level. More importantly, he has transformed the position from the stretch four to point four.

He is often the initiator of the offense, despite Curry being the point guard on paper. Green usually receive the ball around half court or the top of the key, then quarterbacks the offense-- allowing Curry and Thompson to run off of screens.

Green’s court vision accompanied with the fluidity allows him to create offense for himself and others, that other stretch fours haven't had the ability to do.

Whether this role forces him to score at a higher clip or create for others on a Magic Johnson rate, Green will definitely figure that out. Either way, history tells that he is more than capable of boosting his numbers.

Before his first extension in 2015, Green averaged 11 points on 44% field goal shooting and 33% three-point shooting. After his extension that summer, he averaged 14 points on 49% shooting from the field and 38% three-point shooting. Not to mention, the Dubs went on to have a 73-9 season.

This season will be a telling season for Green. Moreover, the Dub’s success will be directly correlated with his play-- directing the narrative of their dynasty’s history. If successful, Green’s legacy as a Hall of Famer will be further cemented and the NBA world will have even more memories of the polarizing forward.