Draymond Green was terrific in the Warriors’ thrilling win over the Utah Jazz on Monday night.
The three-time NBA champion of the Year registered 12 points (5-for-10 from the field), 10 assists, six rebounds and two steals in 37 minutes.
After the victory, he was asked about the league’s Defensive Player of the Year award.
“It doesn’t always go to the most impactful player on defense,” Draymond told the media. “So it’s not very controversial because no one in the world gives a damn about defense. So it doesn’t create as much controversy [as the MVP race] because no one cares — as if it doesn’t win games and championships.
“It’s a little tougher to evaluate. On offense, you evaluate by assists [and] you evaluate by points. At times, defense is evaluated by blocks and steals, but that doesn’t necessarily tell the story.
“Some of the worst defenders in NBA history have led the league in steals or been right up there in that category.”
At this point in Draymond’s answer, we found out that Steph Curry was off to the side waiting for his turn to take the podium.
“Steph [Curry] just raised his hand,” Draymond revealed with a smile. “I don’t think Steph is one of the worst defenders in NBA history [laughter].
“Especially not this year — locking s–t up [smiles].”
Now that is some funny stuff right there.
When Curry was the unanimous NBA MVP for the 2015-16 season, he led the league in steals (2.1). And in case you forgot — he racked up 30.1 points and 6.7 assists per game, while shooting 50.4 percent overall and 45.4 percent from deep (5.1 makes per).
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The 33-year-old this season is averaging 31.9 points and 5.7 assists, while shooting 48.6 percent from the field and 42.6 percent from beyond the arc (5.4 makes per game).
He’s really, really good at basketball.
Oh, and Draymond absolutely should make First-Team All-Defense.
