As difficult as it is to believe, Warriors forward Draymond Green didn’t always love defense.
But as the four-time NBA champion eventually realized, honing in on his defensive skills was his most viable pathway into a starting role with Golden State.
Green joined NBC Sports Bay Area's Monte Poole and Kerith Burke on the latest "Dubs Talk," where he was asked about what led to him becoming one of the most established defenders in the league.
“When I came in [to the NBA], defense wasn’t my thing,” Green told Poole and Burke. “I passed the ball. I shot the ball. I created on offense. That’s what I did, but that wasn’t the path to the court. My path to the court had to be defensively.”
With the emergence of the Splash Brothers – guards Steph Curry and Klay Thompson – and David Lee as the Warriors’ undisputed starting forward, Green acknowledges he had no other alternative.
“Steph Curry, Klay Thompson – two young guys emerging – an offensive-minded power forward, All-Star, who in the post can scroll with the best of them,” Green added. “Remember, these are the days you actually had to throw the ball into the post, actually going to scroll [with] two bigs.
“These are those days. I’m behind that guy, David Lee. I don’t score better than him, so my path onto the court ain’t going to be that. How can I get on this floor?
“And the only way I can get on the floor was to get stops defensively. So, I’m immediately like, ‘I got to get stops. I got to lock in so much defensively that that’s going to be my path onto the court.’
Fast forward more than a decade, and Green’s bet on focusing on the defensive side of the game paid off.
In 2017, the veteran forward won the Defensive Player of the Year award. And although it’s the only DPOY trophy in his decorated case, Green is considered by many as one of the greatest defensive players of all time.
This season, on the other hand, Green has made a case for a second DPOY award, which would further solidify his status as one of the greats in the category.
And, ironically enough, Green’s perspective on playing defense has completely shifted from his earliest days as a professional.
“Honestly, I absolutely love playing defense,” Green concluded. “I genuinely enjoy getting back on defense, watching the offense come down the court and looking at this like: How am I going to stop this play right now? Like, I genuinely enjoy it.
“Everyone wants to play offense, let's face it. We all want to get the ball. We want to score. We want to get the assist. Offense is fun. Defense isn’t so fun for certain people. I absolutely love it.”
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