Draymond Green's legacy has been placed under a magnifying glass of late, with many people firing shots at the Golden State Warriors great amid his Charles Barkley-Houston Rockets joke and ongoing feud with Austin Rivers. All of these conversations and viral clips lined up perfectly for his participation in “The Roast of Kevin Hart” on Sunday.
Roastmaster Shane Gillis took the opportunity to target the veteran forward's involvement in the Dubs dynasty. “Draymond Green has four NBA championships the way Ringo Starr has 11 No. 1 albums,” the comedian quipped on the NSFW Netflix special, via the Netflix Sports X account. “Draymond is the first player to make four All-Star teams for just setting picks.”
When people reflect on the Warriors' success in the 2010s and early 2020s, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant will likely come to mind before Green, hence why Gillis felt compelled to make a Beatles reference at the roast. The consensus opinion is that the Michigan State graduate does not possess the offensive acumen to be an ideal top option of an NBA franchise, and that is a difficult point to argue.
However, one also cannot dispute Green's colossal importance to the team. During Golden State's peak, the 2012 second-round draft pick was an elite defender, impactful playmaker and vocal leader in the locker room. Curry is the face of the franchise, but Green is the igniter the Warriors needed to cement their place in NBA history.
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If not for his one-game suspension in the 2016 Finals, the Dubs could have another title and be credited with having one of the best single seasons in league history. The future Hall of Famer's value cannot be measured in statistics alone.
Much like iconic drummer Ringo Starr did with The Beatles, Draymond Green elevated the great talent around him and brought the contrasting personality and style that the group required.
Shane Gillis delivered the one-liner that so many others would understandably make at a roast, but there will be critics who use it to reinforce their anti-Green stance, just as they have done with Jordan Poole's alleged “backpack” remark.
Though, for those who insist that the former Defensive Player of the Year has been completely carried by his more celebrated teammates, a Ringo solo hit could nicely sum up the 36-year-old's road to success: “It Don't Come Easy.”
Draymond Green's legacy has been placed under a magnifying glass of late, with many people firing shots at the Golden State Warriors great amid his Charles Barkley-Houston Rockets joke and ongoing feud with Austin Rivers. All of these conversations and viral clips lined up perfectly for his participation in “The Roast of Kevin Hart” on Sunday.