Draymond Green
Draymond Jamal Green is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association. Green, who plays primarily at the power forward position, is a four-time NBA champion, a four-time NBA All-Star, a two-time member of the All-NBA Team, and a two-time Olympic gold medalist. Considered one of the greatest defensive players of all-time, he is a nine-time All-Defensive Team member, was NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2017, and led the league in steals the same year.
Green grew up in Saginaw, Michigan, and he played college basketball for the Michigan State Spartans, helping them earn two Final Four appearances and a Big Ten tournament championship in 2012. Throughout his four-year college career, Green earned conference and national honors, including Big Ten Conference Sixth Man of the Year as a sophomore and consensus All-American and NABC National Player of the Year honors as a senior. He was drafted 35th overall in the 2012 NBA draft by the Golden State Warriors and later played a key role on the Warriors' 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2022 championship teams.
Playing significant minutes as an undersized center in the Warriors' "Death Lineup", Green was cited as one of the leaders in an emerging trend in the NBA of versatile frontcourt players capable of playing and defending multiple positions as well as making plays for teammates. He is considered one of the best passers and defensive players of the 2010s and 2020s, known for his steals, shot-blocking, rebounding, and overall defensive play. He has been criticized for his on-court conduct and physically aggressive play, and also has the second-most career ejections of any NBA player, behind only Rasheed Wallace.
High school career
Green attended Saginaw High School in Saginaw, Michigan, where he played for coach Lou Dawkins. As a sophomore in 2005–06, he averaged 12 points and 11 rebounds per game. As a junior in 2006–07, he averaged 25 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and three steals per game as he led Saginaw to the Class A State Championship and a 26–1 record.On November 14, 2007, Green signed a National Letter of Intent to play college basketball for Michigan State. Green had also considered signing with Michigan and Kentucky.
As a senior in 2007–08, Green averaged 20 points, 13 rebounds, and two blocked shots per game in leading the Saginaw High Trojans to a 27–1 record, a No. 4 national ranking by USA Today and a Class A State Championship for a second straight year. He was subsequently named captain of the Detroit Free Press All-State Dream Team, and was rated the No. 36 player in the ESPN 150, including the No. 13 power forward.
College career
Freshman year
As a freshman for Michigan State in 2008–09, Green appeared in 37 games off the Spartan bench as he averaged 3.3 points and 3.3 rebounds per game on the season. During Michigan State's 2009 NCAA tournament run to the championship game, Green improved to average 8.5 points and 5.3 rebounds, ranking fourth on the squad in scoring and second in rebounding while shooting a team-best.679 from the field in the tournament.Sophomore year
As a sophomore in 2009–10, Green appeared in 37 games with three starting assignments as he averaged 9.9 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He became the first player in Michigan State history to be named Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year, winning the award by unanimous vote. He also earned third-team All-Big Ten honors and was the recipient of MSU's Most Improved Player, Chairman of the Boards and Antonio Smith Glue and Guts awards. Twice, Green scored a season-high 19 points, on December 10 against Oakland and December 30 against Texas–Arlington. He also had seven games with double-doubles, including 17 points and 16 rebounds on February 6 against Illinois.Junior year
As a junior in 2010–11, Green averaged 12.6 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. On February 10, 2011, Green followed Charlie Bell and Magic Johnson to be the third Michigan State men's basketball player to record a triple-double. In the 2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, he recorded his second triple-double of the season and the seventh in NCAA tournament history in the loss against UCLA. He went on to earn third-team All-Big Ten honors for the second straight year.Senior year
As a senior in 2011–12, Green captained the Spartans to a regular season Big Ten championship and Big Ten tournament championship, being named Most Outstanding Player. The 2011–12 squad compiled a regular season 24–7 record and a 13–5 mark in Big Ten play, good for the team's 13th conference title and the third in the previous four years. Green was named Big Ten Men's Basketball Player of the week four times during the season; no other Spartan in history has won the award more than three times in a single season. On March 5, 2012, Green was named Big Ten Player of the Year by the coaches and media and was a unanimous first-team All-Big Ten selection. On March 10, 2012, Draymond passed Johnny Green as the second all-time rebounding leader at MSU, finishing the game with 1,046 career rebounds.On March 16, 2012, Green recorded his third career triple-double against LIU-Brooklyn in the second round of the 2012 NCAA tournament and joined Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson as just the third player in NCAA history to have two career triple-doubles in the NCAA tournament. On March 22, 2012, in a loss to Louisville, Green collected 16 rebounds, bringing him to 1,096 career rebounds, the most in Michigan State history ahead of Greg Kelser. He ended his career as one of three players in Michigan State history with over 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. Concluding his time in college, he graduated with a degree in communication studies at the end of his senior year.
Professional career
Golden State Warriors (2012–present)
Early years (2012–2014)
Green was selected with the 35th overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft by the Golden State Warriors. On July 30, 2012, he signed a three-year, $2.6 million contract with the Warriors. In his NBA debut in the Warriors' season opener on October 31 against the Phoenix Suns, Green played one minute, made one defensive rebound, and committed one foul. Green gradually received more playing time in subsequent games, especially in the wake of injuries to Brandon Rush and Richard Jefferson. After getting only marginal floor time at the beginning of the season, by November 22, Green was playing 15–20 minutes per game, and by December 9, as Green gained a bigger role on the team, the Warriors had won 8 of 10 games. On December 12, Green made the winning layup with 0.9 seconds left in the Warriors' 97–95 win over the defending champion Miami Heat.In Game 1 of the first round of the 2013 playoffs against the Denver Nuggets on April 20, Nuggets' guard Andre Miller drove around Green and made the game-winning layup in the Nuggets' 97–95 win over the Warriors. Improving on his three-point percentage and offensive performance over the course of the series, Green helped the Warriors win the first round in six games. On May 8, Green started Game 2 of the Warriors' second-round series against the San Antonio Spurs. In the Warriors' 100–91 victory, the Warriors' first victory in San Antonio since the season, Green started in place of Festus Ezeli. Green played 32 minutes and recorded 5 points on 2-of-8 shooting, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. The Spurs went on to win the series 4 games to 2, subsequently ending the Warriors' season and playoff run.
Green lost 20 pounds in the 2013 off-season and showed improvement in three-point shooting and defense as a sophomore. On December 1, 2013, in the Warriors' 115–113 win over the Sacramento Kings, Green tipped in a missed shot by Stephen Curry to give the Warriors a 113–111 lead with 28.7 seconds left. On December 25, Green was ejected from the Warriors' game against the Los Angeles Clippers for committing a flagrant 2 foul on the Clippers' forward Blake Griffin. The following day, the NBA fined Green $15,000 for "failing to leave the court in a timely manner" after being ejected. Late in the season, he filled in at power forward for injured starter David Lee, who was out indefinitely. On April 14, 2014, in the Warriors' second to last game of the regular season, Green recorded a career-high 20 points and a career-high-tying 12 rebounds off the bench to help his team defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 130–120.
Green finished the 2013–14 season having played in all 82 games with 12 starts while averaging 6.2 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. He went on to play in all seven of the Warriors' first-round playoff games against the Los Angeles Clippers, as the Warriors lost the series 4 games to 3. He earned praise for his tough defense during the series after averaging 1.7 steals and 1.7 blocks per game.
First championship (2014–2015)
With the Warriors' resurgence in 2014–15, along with it came the breakthrough the Warriors were hoping for from Green. With David Lee out of the Warriors' lineup with a hamstring injury to begin the season, Green was promoted to the starting lineup as his replacement at power forward. Over the first seven games of the season, Green averaged 13.6 points per game as the Warriors fell to a 5–2 record after losing two games in a row on November 9 and 11. In response to the two-game losing streak, the Warriors went on a 16-game winning streak with the help of Green as he averaged 13.3 points per game over the streak, including a career-high 31 points on December 6 in a 112–102 win over the Chicago Bulls.On January 2, 2015, Green recorded his first career triple-double with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists in a 126–105 win over the Toronto Raptors. He went on to finish runner-up in both the Defensive Player of the Year Award and the Most Improved Player Award. Green capped off a great season with an NBA championship and a triple-double in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, posting 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists, while playing a center role in place of Andrew Bogut. He became just the sixth player in NBA history to record a triple-double in an NBA Finals clinching game, joining Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, James Worthy, Tim Duncan and LeBron James.