Draymond Green has cemented his NBA legacy and likely has earned a spot in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame after his playing career ends.
The Warriors forward is regarded as one of the best defenders in the league today while simultaneously serving as the facilitator of Golden State's offense. His versatile game has played a huge role in the Warriors' four latest championships and recently earned him a four-year, $100 million extension.
Green joined NBA star Paul George on the latest episode of "Podcast P with Paul George," where he was asked if focusing less on scoring and developing his all-around game was a bittersweet pill to swallow.
"It is. It's also a cover-up," Green admitted. "It's bittersweet because to know I can do all of those things and still be an All-Star -- like I made All-Star last year and averaged seven points. So it's definitely bittersweet and a great feeling to know people appreciate what I am doing. It's a cover-up in the sense that under no circumstance would I let people know that it was bothering me.
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"So in turn I would dive further into these things so that the world would just feel like 'Oh, that's just what he's doing, that's just who he is so whatever, f--k his shot.' I'm a basketball player, do you think it actually feels good to say f--k my shot? That hurts. So that's been a goal of mine making sure I get that back, because I go home, that s--t burns me up."
Green was selected with the No. 35 pick in the 2012 NBA Draft after averaging 16.2 points, 10.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game in his final season at Michigan State.
Early on in his NBA career, Green was more involved as a scoring threat, averaging 11.7 and 14 points per game as he transitioned into a full-time starter in 2014-15 and 2015-2016. The fiery forward even scored 32 points with 15 rebounds and nine assists in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals.
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However, in recent years, Green has taken fewer and fewer shots per game and oftentimes is focused on creating opportunities for teammates Steph Curry and Klay Thompson.
"So I'm not just going to shoot it because I'm open, because I ain't dumb," Green explained. "I'm not confident in the shot, so no I'm not shooting it. I am open, I probably should shoot it, but I'm not confident in it, so should I shoot it if I'm not confident in the shot? I don't think so."
Even though Green has been so impactful because of his unique skill set, the veteran forward is not content with his shot falling by the wayside. He wants to continue developing that part of his game, even though he already has cemented his legacy as a defensive stalwart.
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"I need to figure out how to find confidence again in this shot," Green said. "And so that's what I've worked on and that's what I've tried to do. I'm taking steps in the right direction, but yeah it was a cover-up.
"It's like I'm going to be so good at these things -- and now granted -- it probably ends up helping my career and my legacy more than if I was a great scorer because I wouldn't be the greatest scorer. So ultimately it probably helped me more in that sense, but don't for one second not believe a large part of it was a cover-up on if I ever struggled that badly on offense, people were going to eat that up if I don't do these things. And I'm way too prideful to allow people to eat this thing up. I'm going to focus on these things and try to be as great as I can be."
If Green is able to develop his shot in the later stage of his career ... well, watch out NBA.
