Programming note: Watch the pregame edition of Warriors Outsiders on Saturday afternoon at 4:30, streaming live on the MyTeams app.
Draymond Green won the Defensive Player of the Year in 2017.
In 2015 and 2016, he finished runner-up to Kawhi Leonard.
And in the playoffs, he takes his defense to a whole another level and becomes even more dominant on that end of the floor.
After the Warriors' Game 2 Western Conference finals win over the Blazers, the three-time All-Star let it be known just how confident he really is.
Marcus Thompson of The Athletic has the details:
Sports
"The best ever defender?" Green said.
"Me."
The best defender ever?
"Me." Green punctuated his declaration with a nod as he strutted out of the locker room with a smile. But he wasn't joking. "That's what I believe. Wholeheartedly."
That's the mindset he should possess. But the reality is that Draymond is still very much in the middle of his prime and it's way too early to make the case that he is the best defender of all-time.
But when you just focus on the present, there is simply nobody in the league who can guard all five positions like Draymond.
On Thursday night against Portland, his defensive metrics were incredible:
-10 defensive rebounds
-5 blocks
-19 contested shots (the next closest Warrior contested seven shots)
He also did stuff like this:
Draymond Green did not get credit for a steal on this (why not?). But he caused this turnover by knocking it off Collins and out of bounds pic.twitter.com/zJJB3KnfQc— Drew Shiller (@DrewShiller) May 17, 2019
Draymond Green gets no credit in the box score for this, but he saved the Warriors two points in a crucial moment pic.twitter.com/aN14kbHLeC— Drew Shiller (@DrewShiller) May 17, 2019
Additionally, the Blazers went 1-for-8 at the rim against the two-time All-NBA selection:
So far, Draymond has taken a charge on a driving Aminu and he's blocked Kanter at the rim (and he has 6 points) pic.twitter.com/VFZ5LcgGI3— Drew Shiller (@DrewShiller) May 17, 2019
Just watch Draymond Green here:
1) he helps Klay and gets a great contest on McCollum to cause the miss
2) he helps up and blocks Meyers Leonard at the rim (and gets the rebound) pic.twitter.com/OSGScWlukU— Drew Shiller (@DrewShiller) May 17, 2019
This defense from Draymond is beyond remarkable:
1) he stops a McCollum layup by forcing CJ to pass
2) he lands from jumping, immediately turns and blocks what looked like was gonna be an easy Harkless layup
(do people realize how amazing this is?) pic.twitter.com/dCNflD8dRT— Drew Shiller (@DrewShiller) May 17, 2019
[RELATED: NBA says Iguodala did not foul Lillard in closing seconds]
Warriors fans should never take for granted the fact they get to watch Draymond on a nightly basis. He, like Steph Curry, has revolutionized the way people look at basketball.
Not bad for the 35th pick in the 2012 NBA Draft.
