My favorite plays to watch in basketball are Draymond defending an “X v 1” fast break.  Watching him read the play then position to disrupt, all so insanely quickly.  Then watching him smother guys who think they have a layup.

There was a game earlier this year with a fast break against Dray and they straight up surrendered.  I think one guy moved out to the 3pt line and the ball handler circled out from the hoop, lol, they did their homework.

Things like this are what Draymond is referring to when he talks about “the game within the game”.

For instance when he disrupted Sabonis’ respiratory scheme by stomping on his ribcage

I can’t find the thread but T’wolves fans had a “secrit play” that worked like 99% of the time where they’d have Wiggins set a screen then slip back door for an alley oop. There was a big compilation of it working a million times and then I remember they played the Warriors and Draymond immediately saw it and recognized it and went to Wiggins and broke up the alley oop and T’wolves fans were like damn :( lmao.

Yeah, watching his PnR defense last night was nuts. He’s guarding a Ja Morant (fastest/most explosive guy in the NBA?) and Zach Edey (biggest guy in the NBA) pick and roll and half the time he is standing in between them and not really guarding either one but neither of them is open so Ja can’t roll to the basket or get the ball to a guy nearly a full foot taller than Draymond. He really is able to just be in the way in a way that I don’t see other dudes do.

Here’s a Reddit post with videos discussing an awesome article from the newly revived Zach Lowe https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/fsrdp3/this_zach_lowe_article_featuring_draymond_green/

Yeah. Draymond is easily one of the most cerebral defenders in the game.

His antics however does make me think more of Pepé or Sergio Ramos. Who are two excellent defenders in their own right mind you.

Can confirm. Eye completely untrained. No idea why Draymond is considered an elite defender.

He’s here. He’s there. He’s every fucking where.

Just one of those things that only shows up in box plus minus really and why despite his ¹⁄₇ 3pt shooting, hes always a plus right next to steph just like last game against the grizz

Nobody ever considered Maldini anything but a great defender. And he absolutely tackled, was always considered a physical player on the most physical team of its time (90s milan).

He explained it himself in a podcast recently.

Draymond, if anything, would be more like Baresi. Short for a central Defender, but makes it up with timing, vision, command of the defense, communication.

I was coming here to say that. I can’t remember a time since the 90s when Maldini wasn’t considered an amazing defender.

Yeah, he became the starting right-back at 17 at one of the biggest clubs in the world.

He was good from the get-go.

Something must be missing in translation cos I completely agree

I think he’s more trying to say that people didn’t understand how great of a defender he was because he didn’t rack up as many flashy tackles as other defenders did.

“bad” defenders don’t get billboards like this

I think he meant in the light of stats, “very few tackles made”.

I had to make sure I was reading the quote correctly the guy is basically unanimous in all time 11s at LB or CB

Kind of makes me question the article, as someone who doesn’t even watch football I know this is statement would get me clowned on by my friends.

He is widely considered a Top 3 defender of all time, at worst

I don’t think he was calling him a poor defender… he was saying the classic stats like “tackles” weren’t there, cause he was preventing plays from happening before he even had to make a tackle

sometimes maybe balls, sometimes maybe throat

Meh i would say he is like Ramos. Controlled cunt. Gattuso was angry/agressive all the time without really a control. Draymond doing lots of shit he does with intention and doesnt mess with players he cant controll.

Gattuso would be more like Isaiah Stew.

Edit: Even tho i hate the guy he is def all time defender and amazing player. What coach say is spot on.

MY GOAT used to love how quick he was to go after dudes lol

He’s Pepé but basketball.

Materazzi maybe ?

Best of the modern era. Top 5 lists are super wonky already cause of era differences but defense is even harder to judge and likely there wouldn’t be too much of a consensus top 5. But yeah, personally, if I was trying to create the best defensive 5 in history, I absolutely would not leave Draymond off

I don’t like historical top 5 for something so context dependent as the rules and offense for each era. The rules in play change how defense is played to a crazy degree. I think Draymond is the best and most important of his era, but I couldn’t place him in an all time conversation.

This was posted by OP above

Fits with the excellent article in the Athletic today about Draymond’s defensive mindset:

> He doesn’t want to win matchups; he wants to disrupt whole schemes. He doesn’t see his battle with the players on the court but with the aim of what they want to accomplish.

>

> “Every offense in the NBA is built to put (defensive) players in a rotation,” Green said. “So if I know that, and I know the rotation … if I see that y’all are doing this or y’all (are) doing this to get to that? Great. I’m going to stand right there and f— this whole play up.

If you think of it in this lens, Draymond is really hard to compare to someone like Hakeem, Jordan, Russell, Payton, Pippen, Walton, etc. because of the illegal defense rules. Draymond both has the task, and also the freedom, to affect team defense a lot more. Gary Payton was only defending his man or hard switching/doubling to another man (at least in his prime). Draymond or Bam would be totally different in 1993 because they would be matching up almost exclusively on the opposing center, where their switchability is neutralized and their lack of size could be exploited. Sagging off your man to be ready to jump a driving or passing lane could get you called for a violation.

This is all to say: it’s hard to compare defenders all time. Draymond should probably go in the top 5 list, but it’s a weird one to judge against other eras.

Russell, Duncan, Hakeem, Garnett are I think pretty comfortably top 4 so you really have a fight for that fifth spot with guys like Dray, Rodman, Pippen, etc

That can guard 1-5? Absolutely

Draymond def has a shot. Hakeem, Pippen, Duncan, Rodman, KG and Dray. You can try and add Russell or Kawhi, but he’s top 7 depending on the list. I personally take him over Pippen, as number 5 behind Hakeem, Duncan, KG and Dennis.

Draymond is for sure a top 10 defender in NBA history.  Top 5 is a maybe, but a bit of a stretch.  Even so, it would be hard to call the comparison ill conceived. 

He’s the best defender I’ve seen. And I did not like draymond for a while but his instincts are out of this realm.

I don’t think it should be a controversial take to say he’s at least in the conversation.

He’s the Ray Lewis, Patrick Willis, Bobby Wagner of our defense

I love everyone’s responses here! Definitely Draymond is up there and probably on my list for best versatile wing defender all time, but I’m sure Pippen, Rodman, and Kawhi deserve to get put there as well.

Yes

He is a very hateable figure for so many of his antics but one of my absolute least favorite things that happens on this subreddit is people during the (usuallydeserved) pile ons he gets when he does his Draymond things pretending he isn’t an all time defender with one of the most unique and effective player profiles the sport has ever seen.

This is a more accurate comparison other than just dirty plays because Ramos played in a much higher line for a much more attacking team. His role had more risks in the modern era. Just like Draymond in the modern offensive NBA.

80s-90s Serie A even upto mid 2000s was comfortably the most defensive league with low blocks and more robust defensive workrate midfielders.

Maldini is one of the greatest defenders of his era but he never had a offensive LB like Marcelo on his side to cover. Also never played with attacking midfield lineups like James-Isco - Kroos as his midfield line.

Draymond been anchoring their defense w/Steph - Klay who have never been all time great defensive end players, often as the undersized center.

Perfect comp honestly lmao

Who my mind thought of first tbh

Paolo Maldini is arguably the greatest defender to ever play football. And easily the most elegant.

He knew how to read the game so well that he rarely had to tackle his opponent. He just knew where to be to stop him either way.

People can hate all they want, he is one of the best and more importantly smartest defensive player in the history of the NBA.

Recent and distant…

lol he’s the best. You gotta go all the way to KG to find a match to his monster impact on defense. Wemby’s coming though.

Thanks Magic!

damn wtf, grizzlies fans is this how y’all really felt about Jenkinslol? no ones saying no so ..

Already?

Same can be said about wide receivers or tight ends. They don’t need to touch the ball to affect how other teams have to guard. Put Randy Moss out there and wonder why all the other receivers are suddenly so good. It pisses me off so much how these team games are judged by individual play.

It weird how we grade defense based on blocks and steals. Yes. They matter too. But at the end of a game, you usually need a stop. Not a steal or a block.

That description literally fits Maldini perfectly

yea, Maldini was known for his anticipation and great positioning and high IQ and while Draymond has all that as well, he also has everything you’d want in a defender lol. He’s phsyical, versaitle AND has great ball IQ. It’s not like he’s lacking in some departments but makes up for it with anticipation. He’s just really one of the best defensders of the century.

Way to take credit away from Maldini ,Maldini is much closer to being the best defender of his sport than Draymond is in his ,and he did it for longer too.

I’d say he’s a bit undersized for his position but that’s nitpicking

He’s just really one of the best defenders of the century.

What’s wild to me is that he’s only got 1 DPOY award. I know there are a lot of reasons for why that is, and I think Gobert is an incredible defender. It’s just going to be weird for future generations to look back and see Rudy with 4 of those awards and Dray with 1. I think this award almost means more to the players than it does for fans/analysts etc.

I think you might’ve mistyped your comment? I don’t see how you differentiated the two. I think it’s a fine comparison. Are you saying draymond is more physical than Maldini was (true btw)?

bro maldini is the goat

I mean, Maldini wasn’t really lacking anywhere either. Both of them were slightly shorter than average for the position (though Maldini played fullback a lot too) but were true all-time greats at their craft, without true flaws

? Are you forgetting Draymond is like very small for his position

I don’t think that was his intent - he is saying if there were the equivalent of box-score watchers in soccer they would argue that Maldini wasn’t good because the stats weren’t there, but they weren’t there for a reason (because he killed the action before it even developed).

Universally? A lot of Milan fans would tell you that Baresi was better.

dude has so many “unnatural motions”

Last night I was watching the Dillon Brooks video and they called it a “natural kicking motion”, and I thought, what sport are we playing?

Pretty sure it’s just getting lost in translation a bit. I think he’s more trying to say that people didn’t understand how great of a defender he was because he didn’t rack up as many flashy tackles as other defenders did.

Because obviously within the context of the sentence it’s not literal. Meanwhile you sound like you’re having a tantrum

https://www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-if-i-have-to-make-a-tackle-then-i-have-already-made-a-mistake-paolo-maldini-139-77-38.jpg

And Draymond has notable blocks. But they’re not what makes him a great defender.