By every measure, Draymond Green is one of the NBA’s best players ever. And it’s not remotely debatable. As the all-around defensive lynchpin for a dynastic Warriors squad, Green made a name for himself by locking down other superstars while being a versatile and efficient offensive facilitator. It’s a grimy job, but someone’s got to do it, and not everyone can. A four-time All-Star, four-time First-Team All-Defense member, and a former Defensive Player of the Year like Green quite obviously can.
But something is curiously missing from Green’s resume lately. While he might be on the shortlist for the best defenders ever, he didn’t qualify for another list: The NBA 75th Anniversary Team, or 75 best players in league history.
According to Green, the reason is pretty simple: He was suspended from the latter half of the 2016 Finals, where he likely would’ve won MVP, while the Warriors fell in a historic collapse to LeBron James Cavaliers.
