Kenyon Martin has never been shy about saying exactly what he thinks, but his latest swing at Draymond Green might be the wildest one yet. On Gil’s Arena, the former No. 1 pick claimed he could name two hundred players better than Draymond. To keep things simple, he said he narrowed it down to only power forwards. Even after ‘dumbing it down,’ as he put it, the list still ran 44 names deep. And Martin insisted every single one of them is a better basketball player, straight up, than Draymond Green.
Not better at Draymond’s role. Not better if you factor in intangibles. He meant pure basketball skill. That was his entire criteria.
“I name 200 people better at basketball than Draymond Green. I’m talking about basketball, skill set of basketball. I can name 200 people I think are better at basketball than you. That’s people. I dumbed it down to power forwards. I dumbed it down to just power forwards.’
“People that are really good at basketball, like all around, they do things more than just score. They do better, like they play basketball. Their skill set is that, like they really good though. So let’s go down this, should we go down this list?”
“Fifty, so this is a list of, I tried to, I was gonna cut it short, but then my basketball savantness, if that is a word, kicked in, and this is where we are with this situation. So here is Kenyon’s power forward list.”
– Giannis Antetokounmpo
– Anthony Davis
– Dirk Nowitzki
– Charles Barkley
– Kevin Garnett
– Tim Duncan
– Dennis Rodman
– Karl Malone
– Chris Webber
– Amar’e Stoudemire
– Chris Bosh
– Rasheed Wallace
– Pau Gasol
– Elton Brand
– Antawn Jamison
– Zach Randolph
– Carlos Boozer
– David West
– Jermaine O’Neal
– Shawn Kemp
– Derrick Coleman
– Danny Manning
– Larry Johnson
– LaMarcus Aldridge
– Blake Griffin
– Kevin Love
– Al Jefferson
– Drew Gooden
– Josh Smith
– Tim Thomas
– Antoine Walker
– Lamar Odom
– Jason Williams
– Horace Grant
– Otis Thorpe
– Paul Millsap
– Juwan Howard
– David Lee
– Al Harrington
– Rashard Lewis
– Kevin McHale
– Nene
– Popeye Jones
– Reggie Evans
The timing wasn’t random either. Just days earlier, Martin called Draymond a fake tough guy who “picks his spots.” That comment lingered until Draymond finally had enough and answered back on his podcast. He didn’t bother with subtlety.
“You were the No. 1 pick and made one All-Star team. Most would say that’s underachieving,” Draymond said, before laying out his own resume. Four championships. Defensive Player of the Year. Nine All-Defensive teams. A career built from the 35th pick into the backbone of a dynasty. If Martin wanted to compare careers, Draymond was ready to line up the numbers.
Martin didn’t take that lightly. He jumped on Instagram Live, reminding everyone that he helped lead the Nets to two Finals. He said injuries robbed him of his prime and insisted he ‘held it down’ when healthy. He also argued that Draymond’s offense is a product of Golden State’s system, that the screens, movement, and spacing did as much for his success as anything else.
The response only added fuel. Draymond circled back once again, pointing out that the two share Saginaw roots and saying the hostility felt unnecessary. Martin shot back that he didn’t care where anyone was from. The list, the comments, the whole thing kept growing.
But beneath the noise, the argument has always been about respect. Martin has never bought into the idea that Draymond is an elite talent. He sees him as a role player in a perfect situation. Draymond sees that take as disrespect to the work, the IQ, the defense, and the championships that made him a Hall of Fame lock.
That’s why the list went viral. It wasn’t just the names. It was the tone. It was the history between two guys who pride themselves on toughness. It was the sense that both were speaking from a personal place more than a basketball one.
Forty-four names later, the debate hasn’t cooled. If anything, it feels like both sides have dug in deeper. And the way this back-and-forth is trending, neither one is anywhere close to backing down.
