When it comes to the Golden State Warriors, many NBA pundits, writers, and fans will paint the narrative that Stephen Curry is the heartbeat, and therefore MVP of the franchise. I could not disagree more on this take.
It’s a shortsighted conclusion of equating the best player on a team with the MVP of said team. The two are not always synonymous with each other. While Steph is the clear-cut number one option on the Dubs, its Draymond Green who carries more value.
Why Draymond Green is the MVP of the Warriors, not Stephen Curry
People will look at base numbers and the countless accolades Curry has amassed to make this argument. However, Green’s value goes beyond the box score. It’s the way he leads vocally and by example, the versatility on both ends of the floor. He’s a stat-sheet stuffer who plays his role to perfection night in and night out.
We got a clear glimpse of Draymond’s value during his most recent absence, which was for over two months due to a foot/back injury, and boy was it evident!
Without the NBA DPOY frontrunner this season, Golden State was a near .500 club at an 18-16 record, struggling to grasp any kind of momentum in a tough Western Conference. With him in the lineup, they are 29-7 – a massive difference. Some may say an MVP-caliber disparity.
Essentially, they go from a clear contender in the West to a record that would be more suited for a play-in team. In their most recent stretch without the All-Star, the Warriors went 2-9 and were giving up 118 points a night, making for the second-worst defense in the league.
Green paces the Warriors in rebounds (7.6), assists (7.4), blocks (1.2), and steals (1.4), for all you box-score and basic stat lovers. Couple that with an ability to guard all five positions, who wouldn’t miss that versatility?
Draymond is only playing currently averaging over seven assists while taking less than 10 shots a game – a combination of selflessness and sacrifice on his part. This is truly unique high-efficiency, low-volume talent.
The 32-year-old forward also is a tremendous screen setter, and those stellar screens give the Splash Brothers a tremendous amount of room to operate. This helps immensely with the Warriors’ spacing and free-flowing offense.
Lastly, I want to share an excerpt from highly touted Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder, who believes Draymond Green deserves to be in the MVP conversation.
The news comes from Kurt Helin of NBC Sports,
"“I don’t think I have to qualify this by saying no disrespect to Steph or Rudy, but Draymond Green is as unique a player and is having as good of a year. If you want to put someone in the MVP conversation, he’s someone…”“And then you add the leadership that he shows and the way he communicates, I just think he’s an unbelievable player and I think he’s showing that this year. He’s shown it before, but it stands out so much right now when you watch them play.”"
This is not to take away anything from the body of work of Curry, who is generally regarded as one of the most influential players of all time and best shooter of all time. We just cannot continue to discredit Green’s leadership on and off the court, the way he communicates defensively as an anchor, and the way he leads their high-level offense.