Draymond Green is generally viewed as one of the best defenders in the league, and prior to his back injury, he was the leading candidate for the DPOY award. There’s no question that he is the most versatile defender in the game, and he is well-known for being able to guard all 5 positions effectively.
Despite his defensive prowess, Draymond Green has only won 1 DPOY award over the course of his career. Since 2010, Rudy Gobert is the player with the most DPOY awards, tallying 3 of them in 2018, 2019, and 2021.
Draymond Green recently got upset about being compared to Rudy Gobert. He stated that the two are “not alike”. It seems obvious that Draymond Green thinks that Rudy Gobert shouldn’t be in the same conversation as him.
Draymond Green doesn’t want Rudy Gobert mentioned in the same convo as him 😳 pic.twitter.com/N3y113ZMRt
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) February 21, 2022
You keep mentioning me in the same sentence with him, we’re not alike… I didn’t say Mutombo…
Draymond Green and Rudy Gobert have very different playstyles, and from a basketball standpoint, they provide different things. Rudy Gobert is a really efficient scorer at the rim, and his biggest value on defense is that he provides elite rim protection. Draymond Green, on the other hand, is someone who excels at guarding different types of players over the course of a game, while also providing top-tier help defense.
It is unclear which of the two is the better player currently, but the comparisons will always be present as the two are both elite defenders among this generation of basketball players. Draymond Green and Rudy Gobert have had beef on Twitter before, and this video snippet suggests that Draymond Green still has negative feelings about the comparisons between the two. It remains to be seen if either will address this moment, and this year’s DPOY race should be very interesting once Draymond Green returns from injury.
