Draymond Green came up with some huge defensive plays on Tuesday night against the Dallas Mavericks, helping his team to a 120-117 victory in Klay Thompson's return to Chase Center.
Defense continues to be Green's strong suit, with the veteran forward still proving that he's one of the best and most versatile players in the league on that end of the floor. Yet given the 34-year-old has always been known for his elite defense, it's the rediscovery of his 3-point shooting that's a greater surprise through the first 11 games of this season.
Draymond Green's 3-point shooting is proving no fluke
For years Green's 3-point shooting (and scoring in general) declined, having previously shot 38.8% on 3.2 attempts during Golden State's historic 2015-16 season. In the seven years after that, the 4x All-Star never shot better than 30.8% from beyond the arc, and for five-straight seasons Green failed to average more than 8.5 points per game.
In the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons, the 4x All-Star took just 1.2 and 1.8 three-point attempts per game respectively. He became a complete non-shooting threat, with opposing defenses more than willing to leave Green completely open from the perimeter.
Yet things changed last season, much to the surprise of many. Green's three-point percentage rose from 30.5 to 39.5%, with his attempts going from 1.8 to 2.3. Was it simply a fluke and a one-off season compared to the previous seven? Green's start to this season would suggest not.
Through 11 games the 34-year-old is shooting a career-high 45.7% from beyond the arc. Not only that, but he's also taking nearly one more attempt at 3.2 per game. The confidence has markedly improved to the point where he's taking some earlier in the shot-clock, rather than just being purely a bail out option at the end.
On corner threes specifically, Green is shooting 47.4% this season after 42.5% last season. In the two years prior to that, he was at 30.8% and an incredibly dismal 16.7%, albeit that may have been impacted by a back injury that saw him limited to 46 games.
The re-development in Green's three-point shooting has been huge for the Warriors, helping them to the league's third-ranked offense behind the unbeaten Cleveland Cavaliers and the reigning champion Boston Celtics.
It's hard to expect that Green will continue shooting at this rate over an entire season, but if he remains in the high 30's and close to 40% on this volume, then it will go along way to Golden State continuing their success.
The Warriors are now 42-24 in the games Green has played since the start of last season, proving that he remains vitally important to the team even as his 35th birthday draws near.