Draymond Green is proving that accountability drivers leadership in the NBA.
When Draymond Green has a mic in front of his mouth, everyone is waiting to hang on whatever words he is about to speak. While Green has been candid in interviews and has created some of the best sound bytes of any player in the league, he’s also proven to be one of the more mature players in the league and one of the best leaders.
Looking at Green’s improvement in the league goes far beyond any statistics that define him. You can’t point to countless areas on the floor where he has improved an paint a picture of his strengths and weaknesses as a basketball player.
What those stats don’t show is the leader that he is. If there’s been a growing trend revolving around Green this season, it’s been his ability to rise as a leader in this league and hold himself accountable if things aren’t going right.
In the Warriors’ two playoff losses thus far, against the Houston Rockets in Game 3 of the first round and the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 3 of the second round, the big statement coming out after has been Green saying he needs to play better and pick up his effort on the defensive end of the floor.
This isn’t by any means a new trend for those thinking Green might be speaking up because Stephen Curry has been off the floor. In January, the Warriors almost suffered an improbable loss to the hapless Philadelphia 76ers.
The Warriors had built up a lead, only to watch the 76ers get back in the game and almost steal it from a team that was chasing history. After the game, Green explained how his selfish chase of a triple-double almost cost his team the game, according to ESPN’s Ethan Strauss.
"“We definitely should have lost, and it was all my fault,” Green said. “I was selfishly unselfish, if you know what [that] means. And so we started turning the ball over, due to my self[ish] unselfishness, and it was all downhill from there.”"
After the Warriors lost to a Trail Blazers team that was red hot from the field in Game 3, Green explained that even though he scored 37 points and had one of his most impressive statistical games of his career, he didn’t feel it was a good game for him.
He noted that the defensive effort wasn’t there. He referenced the famous overtime thriller between the Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder on February 27, where he only scored two points on the night. According to Green, he felt that was one of his better performances of the season, because of the effort he brought on the defensive end.
In Game 4 against the Trail Blazers and Game 4 against the Rockets, Green was true to his word and picked up the defensive effort. With a seven-block night against Portland, Green further provided evidence to claims of improved maturity, accountability and leadership.
There have been plenty of stories surrounding the Warriors’ season this year that have had plenty of notoriety. While most revolve around the team making history, the rise of Green as a leader has been one of the keys to those stories becoming reality.