Golden State Warriors power forward Draymond Green may be slowly approaching the downside of his career, but he remains an invaluable player for a team whose championship window may have recently reopened.
The arrival of six-time All-Star forward Jimmy Butler resurrected a squad that looked like it was in gradual decay over the last couple of years. Now, instead of looking to pick up some of the scoring slack, Green can return to his usual role of being a jack of all trades and a master of defense.
He won the 2016-17 Defensive Player of the Year award and could easily have won at least one more such award since. He has suddenly become a favorite to win the award again
"When I came into this season, for the last couple years, I've been kind of priding myself on, 'I wanna win another one. I wanna win another one.' But obviously you have to have success as a team. Just to find that success, put myself in the conversation, at worst I want to make first-team All Defense. If I can put myself in the conversation to be DPOY, I think that would be crazier than winning the first one."
Draymond Green shared with @KerithBurke and @MontePooleNBCS what a second Defensive Player of the Year award would mean to him.
Read here: https://t.co/CkunhSEy3gpic.twitter.com/yZ8Y2RzQu4
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 28, 2025
Green is an absolute pest on defense who can effectively guard stars at different positions. For all the talk about how the Warriors have changed the NBA for the better offensively over the past decade, their defense has, in reality, been the key to them winning four championships with Green and Stephen Curry.
Now, with Butler on board, they could have a chance at going far in this year's playoffs. Next season, after they have a full training camp with Butler and perhaps make some roster improvements, they could very well have a great shot at getting a world championship ring for their thumbs.
Related: Draymond Green Sends Stern Warning After Warriors' Blowout Loss
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This story was originally published March 30, 2025 at 8:01 AM.