Ranking the 75 best players in NBA history for 75th anniversary

Ranking the 75 best players in NBA history: No. 74 – Draymond Green

Career: 2012 – present

Achievements: Three-time champion; All-NBA (2x); All-Star (3x); All-Defense (6x); Defensive Player of the Year; led the league in steals (1x)

Draymond Green, like Bill Walton, Dikembe Mutombo and Nikola Jokic, is somewhat representative of a player archetype in making this list. How do we evaluate dependent players who excelled on defense and helped teams to championship success, but were not the first, second or third option offensively? Green gets the nod here, and players like Bobby Jones, Robert Horry and Shawn Marion all got some amount of consideration.

The reality is that Green’s brand of basketball is special, in a way that is not just better than those players he passed to make the list, ut wholly unique in NBA history. Green is an undersized power forward who unlocked the greatest lineup in NBA history by playing small-ball center. He is one of the league’s best defenders and simultaneously one of its better passers, but never developed as a scorer. His per-minute and advanced numbers are elite, but how much of that is playing almost exclusively with Stephen Curry?

In the end, there are a lot of players whose impact was tied to all-time teammates, and Green’s elite skillset is meaningful enough to earn him a spot here. He has had moments of scoring output when needed, but mainly he works to spring his teammates, especially Wardell Stephen Curry, for open looks. Defensively he is a rim protector who can switch onto any perimeter player. He is simultaneously the best option for guarding a team’s wings and bigs.

The Warriors went to five straight NBA Finals, winning three titles and putting together the greatest regular season in the history of the league. Green was at the heart of it all, and his fiery personality drove him to become one of the best “role players” in the 75 years of this league.