Over the last several years, Draymond Green has established a reputation as one of the most unique players in the NBA.
He isn’t a player who wants to or will score a significant amount of points, but he is arguably almost as valuable to the Golden State Warriors as Stephen Curry or Klay Thompson.
Green’s value to the team has allowed him to be a major part of four NBA championships over the last eight seasons.
At this point, his legacy is pretty much established, and some wonder if he will deserve to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Jabari Smith Jr, the third overall pick in June’s NBA draft, thinks it’s not even a question.
How can people say Draymond green is not a hall of famer🤦🏽♂️
— Jabari Smith Jr (@jabarismithjr) August 23, 2022
“How can people say Draymond Green is not a Hall of Famer?” the Rockets forward tweeted.
Green Is A One-Of-A-Kind Player
There is an old saying, “Jack of all trades, master of none,” which is used to describe someone who can perform a myriad of tasks but doesn’t particularly excel at any of them.
Then there are people who are outstanding at one specific thing, but are average or struggle in every other facet.
Green is one of those rare people who is a jack of all trades, but also a master of one particular trade.
He is a good rebounder and arguably the best in that department on the Warriors, as well as possibly their best passer and facilitator.
Green’s ability to push the pace and run the fast break supercharges their offense and makes it the monster it has been for years.
NBA Analyst Draymond Green conducts traffic on the fast break and finds Andrew Wiggins for the slam pic.twitter.com/IqZkKrzErU
— hoops bot (@hoops_bot) April 19, 2022
Last season, he averaged 7.3 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game, just a year after putting up a career-high 8.9 dimes a game.
But where Green excels most is the defensive end.
Like many great defenders, his stats don’t fully reflect his excellence on that end of the floor, but his combination of basketball IQ, intensity and effort makes him someone who can totally disrupt opposing teams.
Draymond Green 2016 defense 🔥 pic.twitter.com/rsIhuqTDyz
— Dom2K (That Dom Guy) (@Dom_2k) April 25, 2020
The open secret to the Warriors’ success in recent years has been their defense, and Green has been the biggest reason they have been an elite defensive team when healthy.
In addition, he is the emotional and spiritual leader of the team, and it’s something that cannot be understated.
Does Green Truly Deserve To Be In The Hall Of Fame?
One criticism the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame has gotten is that it isn’t as selective about who gets in as the Hall of Fame of some other sports.
But its criteria is what it is, and there have been a number of questionable inductions.
For example, last year Ben Wallace, a former big man for the Detroit Pistons got into the Hall.
Wallace was an excellent defender and rebounder who won a world title in 2004 and was a four-time All-Star and Defensive Player of the Year.
However, he isn’t generally considered one of the greatest defenders or rebounders of all time, as opposed to someone like Dennis Rodman.
In 2019, Paul Westphal, a five-time All-Star and longtime NBA head coach, got inducted.
He was certainly a good player, but there was nothing exceptional about him.
If Wallace and especially Westphal deserved to get inducted, then Green certainly does as well.
