A 4x All-Str, 2x All-NBA player, and 3x Champion, Draymond Green has the credentials to demand respect. He knows what it takes to win in this league, and his play on both ends of the floor is widely recognized and applauded.
But his real power may actually rest off the court.
As he revealed in a chat with FOX Sports, he has a voice that carries a lot of weight within the NBA community.
Over the years, Green has made a career through using his voice. After the Warriors selected him as the 35th overall pick in the 2012 draft, he became a spark plug who would light a fire under his teammates with his lockdown defense, selfless screens and outbursts of emotion.
He has refined his voice, making it a more powerful tool than ever, and it’s ringing loud and clear.
He uses it in the locker room to motivate his teammates. He uses it on television, where he’s a widely respected analyst with one of the highest basketball IQs in the sport. And he uses it on his podcast, where he sounds off on issues he believes in and conducts fascinating interviews with other players, encouraging their vulnerability by exposing his own.
“A lot of people have said to me, ‘You have one of the most respected voices in the league beyond LeBron,'” Green said. “For me, that’s a very surreal thing, like a pinch yourself moment.”
While his role as an analyst can be tricky at times, it has only emphasized how respected he really is.
“That’s the fun part,” Green told FOX Sports, flashing a smile. “That’s the challenge. Like, how to be critical of a guy while understanding that you have to play that guy probably. Or understanding that that guy could be a teammate in a month, a year.”
“I 100 percent want to be critical,” Green said. “That’s the job. Like, how are you ever respected if you’re not going to be critical and tell the truth? But my goal is to never — I don’t like to make it personal.”
Among fans, Draymond is a bit of a controversial figure. His intense playstyle can rub some the wrong way, and his hot takes can sometimes sprout heated debates.
Still, he has become a strong and loud voice in the basketball world, and that position isn’t going away anytime soon. Throughout his career, and likely long after he retires, people will be listening to what he has to say — and that may go down as one of his most impressive achievements of all.
