Every team needs that enforcer who isn’t afraid to throw their weight around and do the gritty things to help their team win.
The sport most common to this niche role is hockey, where literal fighting isn’t just allowed, but often encouraged.
In basketball, a fine line has to be walked between tenacious physicality and excessive brutality. The most fearless and cerebral are able to approach that limit without ever crossing it.
Standards have definitely changed in the last few decades within the league. Nowadays any contact slightly gasp-inducing is immediately reviewed for a flagrant foul.
20 or 30 years ago, if a player hit the deck, the most that would come from it is a slight scuffle, and then a continuation of gameplay until the next contentious moment.
If you ever watch old games on NBA TV, the action looks nearly unrecognizable. First of all, the game seemed much more plodding compared to now.
Of course this is generally speaking. You still had the Warriors playing Nellie Ball and the track meets of Paul Westhead’s Denver Nuggets, but the inside-out, half-court grind was much more en vogue.
That brought with it its own brand of physicality, and many complaints about the modern incarnation of the NBA is that it has evolved into a perimeter-based finesse game.
Teams shoot more 3-pointers now than ever before, and whichever basketball figure first determined that 40% on 3-pointers is equal to 60% on 2-pointers deserves Hall of Fame induction just based on that seemingly simple realization.
Each style has its positives and negatives, and while rule changes and general schematic adjustments have lead to a quicker, more finesse game, it has also largely eliminated the type of bruising once characteristic of professional basketball.
A hard foul that gets dissected for days on end today wouldn’t even have drawn a second glance 20 or 30 years ago.
It’s almost a lost art form for a player to be able to tastefully intimidate an opponent through physical play while also providing a jolt of energy for their own team.
It’s not like I’m condoning violence on the court, but there’s something to be said for doggedness demonstrated within the realm of common sense safety.
Think of some of the resolute, slightly unhinged players in the history of this league. Bill Laimbeer. Xavier McDaniel. Anthony Mason. Charles Oakley. Dennis Rodman. Rasheed Wallace. Ron Artest.
Opposing fans may have hated them, but if they were on your team, they were only guilty of displaying the admirable spirit of being willing to put everything on the line to help their team win.
They provided the heart and soul of the team even if they weren’t necessarily the most talented or dynamic player.
Because of guys like Oakley and Mason, playing the Knicks was an ordeal. Patrick Ewing might have been the focal point of those teams, and he certainly played into the perception of the Knicks as hard-nosed grinders, but Oakley and Mason set the tone for those teams.
Isiah Thomas was one of the greatest point guards ever, but it seems like Laimbeer is equally associated with those “Bad Boys” Pistons teams.
The guy who provides the muscle is nearly as integral to the success of the team as the traditional superstar.
If the Warriors end up winning multiple titles over the next few years, I think people are going to look back on Draymond Green in largely the same way they reminisce about Rodman and Laimbeer.
The comparison isn’t meant to imply that Green is a mirror image of those guys in terms of on-court repertoire, but more regarding his relationship to a transcendent team.
All are ultra competitive gladiators out on the court, willing to do anything necessary to grab an extra possession or gain that mental edge against an opponent.
The interesting part of any player grouped in with guys like these is that he’ll naturally end up being underrated when his career contributions are assessed.
Laimbeer wasn’t just running recklessly around the court throwing elbows and clotheslining guys. He was also a great rebounder and skilled perimeter shooter for his size.
Rodman’s remarkable rebounding exploits got him into the Hall of Fame, and his interior defending was nearly unrivaled.
Green is an immensely talented player on both ends of the court, and although he might be known more for his emotional outbursts, he’s probably a top 10 player in this league in terms of overall skill and value to a team.
The common denominator with a lot of these gritty players is how they don’t take anything for granted. They do whatever the team needs, and they are consummate overachievers, usually coming from humble basketball beginnings to make an impact in the NBA.
Laimbeer was drafted in the 3rd round in 1979. That round doesn’t even exist today. Rodman went to a Division II school.
Green was drafted just 35th overall in 2012, and wasn’t handed anything when he first came into this league. He became a superstar after being drafted at a spot where most players are lucky to establish themselves as rotation guys.
Coincidentally, he grew up in Michigan, where Laimbeer and Rodman helped cultivate the aura of those “Bad Boys” Detroit Pistons teams.
Hailing from Saginaw, Green played high school ball for Saginaw High School. As a junior and senior, he lead the team to the Class A State Championship.
Although he considered attending University of Michigan or University of Kentucky, he ultimately chose to play college ball for Michigan State University under legendary coach Tom Izzo, who remains a close friend of his to this day.
Green spent 4 seasons at Michigan State, which is a rarity for prospects with professional potential these days.
He improved each season with the school. During his sophomore year, he won the Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year, averaging 9.9 points per game, 7.7 rebounds per game, 3.0 assists per game, and 1.2 steals per game. He was also named Third-Team All-Big Ten.
He repeated as Third-Team All-Big Ten during his junior season, and even bigger accolades were earned during his senior season.
He won Big Ten Player of the Year in 2012 by averaging 16.2 points per game, 10.6 rebounds per game, 3.8 assists per game, and 1.5 steals per game.
He finished his career at Michigan State as not only the all time leading rebounder in school history, but as 1 of only 3 players with the school to score 1,000 points and grab 1,000 rebounds.
There were concerns about him leading up to the 2012 NBA Draft, though. Scouts weren’t entirely sure what position he would play at the professional level.
He was a classic tweener: too small to play power forward, but not athletic enough to play small forward.
Green ended up getting the last laugh, though, because that same ambiguity has actually helped him become one of the most valuable players in the league.
He’s versatile enough on defense to switch among multiple positions, which makes him an asset guarding the pick-and-roll.
Kawhi Leonard may have won the last two Defensive Player of the Year Awards, and he’s certainly the premier perimeter defender in the league, but nobody is as versatile in terms of guarding multiple positions than Green.
Green climbed his way up from low on the Warriors depth chart when he first came into the league.
His first taste of real success came in December of his rookie season, when Green made a game winning layup with less than a second left to beat the Heat.
He saw increased playing time in his second season as he steadily improved his range out past the 3-point line.
His rise to prominence came during the Warriors’ championship season of 2014-2015, though, and it was catalyzed by unforeseen circumstances.
All Star power forward David Lee was injured at the beginning of the season, forcing Green to fill in as a starter.
The team proceeded to start off the season 21-2, and Green hasn’t lost his spot as a starter since then.
He finished runner up in both the Most Improved and Defensive Player of the Year voting at the end of the season, averaging 11.7 points per game, 8.2 rebounds per game, 3.7 assists per game, 1.6 steals per game, and 1.3 blocks per game.
Green also became just the 6th player to record a triple-double in a Finals clinching game, joining legends Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, James Worthy, Tim Duncan, and LeBron James.
Green continued to improve last season as well. Green earned his first All Star appearance, and was selected to the All-NBA Second Team at the end of the year.
He played a crucial role in helping the Warriors earn an NBA record 73 regular season wins, and although the team ultimately lost in game 7 of the NBA Finals, it was still a tremendous season all things considered.
During his time in the league, Green has become one of the most polarizing players. His energy and enthusiasm is contagious, but he also tends to let his emotions get the better of him at times.
The most vivid example was when his flailing leg kicked Steve Adams in groin during the Western Conference Finals against the Thunder.
The league determined that intent was impossible to prove, but Green still needs to learn when to play less recklessly.
Putting himself in bad situations like that is a detriment to the entire team, because very few players in the league can do what Green does on both ends of the court.
He’s essential to their small ball schemes. Defensively he can match up with nearly any type of offensive player, and poses his own mismatch problems when more traditional centers are forced to defend him.
On offense, not only can he stretch the defense with his 3-point shooting, which he got up to 38.8% last season, but also operate as a playmaker.
Green has the court vision, ball handling, and passings skills to be a successful point forward, and he averaged 7.4 assists per game last season.
So many times Stephen Curry passes to Green out on the perimeter after being doubled on a pick-and-roll, and Green confidently drives to the hoop with an essential man advantage.
He makes the split second decision to either take it strong to the rim, kick out a pass to a wing player standing at the perimeter, or lob it to the center for an easy dunk.
Green almost always makes the right decision, and it leads to the Warriors having an extremely fluid and explosive offense.
With Kevin Durant joining the mix next season, Green will have one more weapon to work with out on the court.
Besides Curry, nobody has been more influential in the success of this team than Green, and that’s really saying something, given the talent that has been on this roster for the past couple seasons.
It’s dynamic skills mixed with tenacious grit that make Green such a special player. He’s a vocal leader who sets the tone for this team, and makes playing the Warriors an arduous experience for other teams.