Kendrick Perkins lists off a multitude of stars he believes to be greater defenders than Draymond Green, following his comments on it.
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After having spent nearly a decade in the NBA, Draymond Green has solidified his place in the upper echelons of defenders in the history of the league.
He’s been the driving force behind the Golden State Warriors’ defense during their 5 straight trips to the Finals while also playmaking off the perimeter and out of the post to get Steph Curry and Klay Thompson some of the cleanest looks from 3 they could possibly get.
Perhaps one of Draymond Green’s greatest assets for him on the court, has been his underdog mentality, which perfectly translated to the utmost of confidence in his ability to do what he needed to do night in and night out: lock up on defense.
This confidence is laid out quite well in a statement he made recently claiming he’s the greatest defender the NBA’s ever seen.
“I’d put myself up against anyone. I see the game from a different perspective. I think when you look at what makes a good defender: reaction time, toughness, being able to see the picture long before it develops, and most importantly, in order to finish a defensive possession. And I think I rebound well.”
‘Draymond Green is not a better defender than Hakeem Olajuwon and Ben Wallace’: Kendrick Perkins
Seems as though ‘Big Perk’ didn’t take too lightly of Draymond’s comments on being the greatest defender in the history of the league. He took to Twitter to list out a couple NBA legends who he believes, have the edge over him.
“Hakeem Olajuwon, Ben Wallace, and Kevin Garnett were all better defenders than Draymond!!! Carry on.”
It’s no secret that the players Perkins listed out are some of the greatest defenders to have ever stepped foot on NBA hardwood. Amongst these 3, they have made a collective 27 All-Defense teams throughout their career, while also racking in 4 titles altogether.
However, when it comes to Green, he’s a different type of defender when compared to Hakeem or Wallace. He’s much more versatile than those guys as he has the ability to switch onto a Donovan Mitchell and hold his own while also not getting bullied down low by Karl Anthony Towns or Steven Adams. So, in terms of defensive versatility, there is little to no argument that Draymond takes the cake.
If you were talking about defensive impact on the game, it’s anyone’s game as any argument made for Garnett, could be made for Hakeem or Green, as all these DPOY caliber players have a massive impact on the defensive end of the floor. Finding any flaws in their game to up the other guys’ credibility as a better defender would be nitpicking at this point.
