Background and career
Draymond Jamal Green (born March 4, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Green, who plays primarily at the power forward position, is a four-time NBA champion, a four-time NBA All-Star, a two-time member of the All-NBA Team, and a two-time Olympic gold medalist. Considered one of the greatest defensive players of all time, he is a nine-time All-Defensive Team member, was NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2017, and led the league in steals the same year. Green grew up in Saginaw, Michigan, and he played college basketball for the Michigan State Spartans, helping them earn two Final Four appearances and a Big Ten tournament championship in 2012. Throughout his four-year college career, Green earned conference and national honors, including Big Ten Conference Sixth Man of the Year as a sophomore and consensus All-American and NABC National Player of the Year honors as a senior. He was drafted 35th overall in the 2012 NBA draft by the Golden State Warriors and later played a key role on the Warriors' 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2022 championship teams. Playing significant minutes as an undersized center in the Warriors' "Death Lineup", Green was cited as one of the leaders in an emerging trend in the NBA of versatile frontcourt players capable of playing and defending multiple positions as well as making plays for teammates. He is considered one of the best screeners and defensive players of the 2010s and 2020s, known for his steals, shot-blocking, rebounding, and overall defensive play. He has been criticized for conduct perceived as unsportsmanlike as well as physically aggressive play, leading many to consider him a "dirty" player, and also has the second-most career ejections of any NBA player, behind only Rasheed Wallace.
Green attended Saginaw High School in Saginaw, Michigan, where he played for coach Lou Dawkins. As a sophomore in 2005–06, he averaged 12 points and 11 rebounds per game. As a junior in 2006–07, he averaged 25 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and three steals per game as he led Saginaw to the Class A State Championship and a 26–1 record. On November 14, 2007, Green signed a National Letter of Intent to play college basketball for Michigan State. Green had also considered signing with Michigan and Kentucky. As a senior in 2007–08, Green averaged 20 points, 13 rebounds, and two blocked shots per game in leading the Saginaw High Trojans to a 27–1 record, a No. 4 national ranking by USA Today and a Class A State Championship for a second straight year. He was subsequently named captain of the Detroit Free Press All-State Dream Team, and was rated the No. 36 player in the ESPN 150, including the No. 13 power forward.
As a freshman for Michigan State in 2008–09, Green appeared in 37 games off the Spartan bench as he averaged 3.3 points and 3.3 rebounds per game on the season. During Michigan State's 2009 NCAA tournament run to the championship game, Green improved to average 8.5 points and 5.3 rebounds, ranking fourth on the squad in scoring and second in rebounding while shooting a team-best .679 from the field in the tournament.
As a sophomore in 2009–10, Green appeared in 37 games with three starting assignments as he averaged 9.9 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He became the first player in Michigan State history to be named Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year, winning the award by unanimous vote. He also earned third-team All-Big Ten honors and was the recipient of MSU's Most Improved Player, Chairman of the Boards and Antonio Smith Glue and Guts awards. Twice, Green scored a season-high 19 points, on December 10 against Oakland and December 30 against Texas–Arlington. He also had seven games with double-doubles, including 17 points and 16 rebounds on February 6 against Illinois.
As a junior in 2010–11, Green averaged 12.6 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. On February 10, 2011, Green followed Charlie Bell and Magic Johnson to be the third Michigan State men's basketball player to record a triple-double. In the 2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, he recorded his second triple-double of the season and the seventh in NCAA tournament history in the loss against UCLA. He went on to earn third-team All-Big Ten honors for the second straight year.
As a senior in 2011–12, Green captained the Spartans to a regular season Big Ten championship and Big Ten tournament championship, being named Most Outstanding Player. The 2011–12 squad compiled a regular season 24–7 record and a 13–5 mark in Big Ten play, good for the team's 13th conference title and the third in the previous four years. Green was named Big Ten Men's Basketball Player of the week four times during the season; no other Spartan in history has won the award more than three times in a single season. On March 5, 2012, Green was named Big Ten Player of the Year by the coaches and media and was a unanimous first-team All-Big Ten selection. On March 10, 2012, Draymond passed Johnny Green as the second all-time rebounding leader at MSU, finishing the game with 1,046 career rebounds. On March 16, 2012, Green recorded his third career triple-double against LIU-Brooklyn in the second round of the 2012 NCAA tournament and joined Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson as just the third player in NCAA history to have two career triple-doubles in the NCAA tournament. On March 22, 2012, in a loss to Louisville, Green collected 16 rebounds, bringing him to 1,096 career rebounds, the most in Michigan State history ahead of Greg Kelser. He ended his career as one of three players in Michigan State history with over 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. Concluding his time in college, he graduated with a degree in communication studies at the end of his senior year.
