The Golden State Warriors will now have a chance to see the real Draymond Green.
Since he broke out as a versatile forward with elite defensive and playmaking abilities, Draymond Green has been a prolific talent for the Golden State Warriors.
People love to hate him. The 2017 Defensive Player of the Year has had more than his fair share of criticism throughout the years.
Though media members often rank him as a top 20 NBA player, casual fans believe Green’s skillset is overrated. As they would say, anyone can average 7 assists on a team stacked with the likes of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant.
Now, Green will be without any of the superstar teammates that helped him emerge as an All-NBA player. Durant is gone, Thompson has a torn ACL and Curry has broken his hand. Green is truly by himself to lead the Warriors now.
Of course, Green has the benefit of D’Angelo Russell being by his side. The 23-year old All-Star will look to help the Dubs in every way possible. Still, many believe Green’s talents will be exposed without talent around him.
However, Green’s accomplishments are more impressive than you may think. Only 12 players in NBA history have averaged 10+ points, 7+ assists, 7+ rebounds, 1+ steal and 1+ block per game across an entire season. Green has accomplished this three times. Not even Michael Jordan did this more than once.
There is no doubt that Green’s path will be more difficult this season. It is going to take a lot for Green to lead a team on his own, but the potential for an explosive performance is there.
Of course, the opposite is true as well. We have never seen Green perform on a truly horrible team. A streak of bad games from the Dubs could bring out the worst in Green.
For now, we can only wait to see what happens. Hopefully, Green proves everyone wrong with a string of great outings.