- Klay Thompson and Draymond Green Have been teammates with the Golden State Warriors since 2012-13
- Klay Thompson and Draymond Green have won four NBA championships together since 2015
- The Golden State Warriors are 4-1 in NBA Finals appearances in which both Klay Thompson and Draymond Green were healthy
Whenever we do the career comparisons of two individual players in the NBA, it is usually between two NBA rivals who never shared the court together. Not only is our matchup today not between two rivals, but it is also between two players that have been teammates with the Golden State Warriors since the 2012-13 season.Â
Since Draymond Green was drafted by the Warriors in the second round of the 2012 NBA Draft, he and Klay Thompson have shared the court together with both players playing a major role in their run as an NBA dynasty. Thompson has been one of the most clutch and best overall three-point shooters in NBA history, while Green has been among the elite defenders and playmakers of his generation.
Today, we take these two teammates and NBA champions and pit their careers against each other using our classic career comparison formula. In the end, we will determine not only who has had the better overall career but also who has had more of an impact on the Warriors’ run to four NBA championships from 2015-2022. Both are on Tier 7 of our rankings of NBA players with the most championship rings, with four to their name.
The anticipation is killing me, so let’s begin to break it all down for you.
Championships
Klay Thompson: 4 (2015, 2017, 2018, 2022)
Draymond Green: 4 (2015, 2017, 2018, 2022)
Having been teammates since the 2012-13 season, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green have been a part of all four NBA championship runs with the Warriors during that time. Each player has played a different but valuable role in these championship runs. Klay Thompson has been the more offensively-minded player for Golden State and has averaged 18.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 0.8 steals per game in 33 career Finals games. He has also shot 39.8% from three-point range and 43.5% overall.
Draymond Green has been the anchor and leader of the Golden State Warriors’ stout defense through all of their championship runs as well as their primary playmaker and facilitator on most nights. During his NBA Finals career, Green has averaged 11.5 points, 9.1 rebounds, 6.6 assists, 1.8 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game in 33 Finals contests. As you can see, while Thompson has been the better scorer, Green has been the much more complete all-around player.
Advantage: Even
Finals MVP Awards
Klay Thompson: 0
Draymond Green: 0
Since their first NBA championship in 2015, the Warriors have had three different players take home Finals MVP awards. Those players were Andre Iguodala, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant twice. While Thomspon and Green have had tremendous performances both on the way to and in the NBA Finals, neither has had a good enough series to be named MVP while sharing the court with NBA superstars.
It should be noted that if the Warriors were victorious in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals, Draymond Green would have likely been named Finals MVP in that series. In Game 7, Green would turn in a masterful performance with 32 points, 15 rebounds, 9 assists, and 2 steals. Unfortunately for Green and Golden State, they were not victorious and fell victim to the greatest upset in NBA playoff history.
Advantage: Even
MVP Awards
Klay Thompson: 0
Draymond Green: 0
For nearly identical reasons, Green and Thompson have also never been named MVP of the NBA regular season, either. While Thompson and Green do many things at an elite level, such as three-point shooting for Thompson and defense and playmaking for Green, they have never been considered elite or considered superstar-level players enough to win the MVP award. The highest that Thompson ever finished in MVP voting was 10th in 2014-15 averaging 21.7 points per game on 43.9% shooting from three, while Green finished seventh in 2015-16, averaging 14.0 points, 9.5 rebounds, 7.4 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game.
Advantage: Even
All-NBA Teams
Klay Thompson: 2 (2 Third Team)
Draymond Green: 2 (1 Second Team, 1 Third Team)
When comparing the All-NBA Team selections of players like Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, it is pretty clear that each of them has become underrated for their contributions to winning in that regard. Both players have earned just two All-NBA Team selections in their careers. Klay Thompson made two All-NBA Third Teams in his career in both 2015 and 2016. In 2015, he was 10th in MVP voting on the season and averaged over 21.5 points per game. In 2016, he helped the Warriors reach a 73-9 regular-season record and averaged 22.1 points per game on 42.5% shooting from three.
Much like Thompson, Draymond Green has also made two All-NBA Teams in his 11-year career. Green earned his first selection in 2015-16 when he made the Second Team and finished seventh in MVP voting while nearly winning Defensive Player of the Year. In 2017, he earned a selection to the Third Team and wound up winning the Defensive Player of the Year. They may have just two All-NBA Team selections each, but Draymond’s higher finish in 2015-16 should account for something.
Advantage: Even
All-Star Selections
Klay Thomspon: 5
Draymond Green: 4
For the first time in our comparison, we have a player finally ready to actually win one category over the other. In his career, Klay Thompson has been an All-Star five times, earning all five selections consecutively from 2015 through 2019. He has not earned a selection since returning from his lower-leg injuries suffered that caused him to miss the 2020 and 2021 seasons. During his All-Star run, Thompson averaged 21.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game on 47.1% shooting overall and 42.3% shooting from three on 7.7 attempts.
Draymond Green has earned one less All-Star selection than Thompson, earning three straight from 2016 through 2018 and another one as recently as 2022. Green’s style of play is not exactly what fans find attractive these days, which has led to him missing out on some All-Star Games in the past. In his selections from 2016 through 2018, Green averaged 11.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game.
Advantage: Klay Thompson
All-Defensive Team Selections
Klay Thompson: 1 (1 Second Team)
Draymond Green: 8 (4 First Team, 4 Second Team)
When it comes to the defensive side of the basketball, both of these players have made an impact in one way or the other throughout their careers. In regards to All-Defensive Team selections, Klay Thompson is pretty underrated, making only one Second Team in his career in 2018-19. Thompson has stepped up in big playoff and Finals moments for Golden State, often taking on an opponent’s best perimeter player for stretches and more than holding his own in those matchups.
As good as Thompson has been on the defensive side of the ball, Draymond Green is the far superior defender. Green has earned four First Team and four Second Team selections. His versatility as a defender is the most incredible part of his game, as he is equally effective as both an interior and perimeter defender. In 2017, Green was honored with the Defensive Player of the Year award, winning the steals title with 2.0 steals per game as well as 1.4 blocks per game. Green has had much more of an impact as a defender over the years.
Advantage: Draymond Green
Total Win Shares
Klay Thompson: 51.7
Draymond Green: 57.4
Total win shares are a stat used to allocate team wins to a specific player based on their performance. The stat takes into account individual, team, and league stats in order to distribute those win shares where they deserve to go. For Klay Thompson, he has accumulated just over 51 win shares in his career, with his best seasons coming in 2015 and 2016. During those years, Thompson managed to earn 8.0 or more win shares and hit his career-high in 2015 with 8.8.
As for Draymond Green, he has been slightly more impactful on team success according to his career win shares. He has also played one more full season than Thompson after Klay missed all of 2020 and 2021 with injuries. Green has totaled 57.4 total win shares in his career, with his best seasons also coming during those 2015-2018 seasons. In 2016, Green earned the most win shares in one season in his career with 11.1 as the Warriors went on to win 73 games.
Advantage: Draymond Green
Career Player Efficiency Rating
Klay Thompson: 16.2
Draymond Green: 14.6
Player Efficiency Rating, or PER, is a stat used to measure how efficient a player is on the court. It goes much further than just shooting the ball as it takes into account all facets of the game, including turnovers and lost possessions. When it comes to this measurement, Klay Thompson has been the slightly more efficient player, with a rating 1.6 points higher than Green. With an average rating being considered 15.0, Thompson has been a slightly above-average player in terms of efficiency for his career.
As for Green, he is sitting at slightly below average for his career but has certainly had seasons in which he was above average as well. In 2016, he recorded a career-high 19.3 PER as he helped lead the Warriors to a 73-9 record. Green also has three other seasons with a PER of over 15.0 while falling just below that mark for the rest of his career. It’s safe to say that both players have been efficient throughout their careers.
Advantage: Klay Thompson
Final Score
Klay Thompson vs. Draymond Green 2-2
I must admit that the results of this comparison were a complete shock to me. You would think, from the way fans talk about each of these players, that Thompson would have won by a landslide. Don’t worry; I am also not naive enough to realize that most of the hate toward Draymond Green comes from his personality and how it rubs most people the wrong way. When it comes to who the better or more valuable team player has been in their careers, that will come down to what you value more.
Thompson has clearly been the bigger scoring and shooting threat in their careers as well as a top-tier defender in his prime. Green has been the heart and soul of their defensive effort, as well as irreplaceable as a playmaker. Green makes the offense flow like a well-oiled machine and is a vocal leader on the defensive end of the ball. It will be up to you to decide which player you hold in higher regard on an all-time scale. What can be determined is that both Thompson and Green have been instrumental in the Warriors’ success over the years, and Golden State never reaches dynasty status without either of them on the court.Â
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