With everything Draymond Green does on the court, it’s very easy to forget that in his prime, he was the anchor of the best defense in the NBA, the facilitator for the best offense, and one of the smartest players to ever pick up a basketball. Turns out his ability to find Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson for wide-open three-pointers came from his understanding of football offensive schemes, further underlying just how high the 4x champion’s IQ really is.
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Speaking to Penny Hardaway about how he managed to find Curry and Thompson during the peak of the Warriors dynasty, Green explained that the art of passing is something he picked up from watching quarterbacks throw passes. He claimed passing to the Splash Brothers was akin to a quarterback’s job, because any delay in the passes, and they’d be smothered by defenses, similar to how a defensive back covers out passes from a QB.
“I’m a huge football fan and when you watch the QB throw the ball, if he wanna complete that pass, and it’s an out route, he better let that ball go before that guy come out that break. Because if you let that ball go once he come out that break, that DB gon pick that.”
Green explained he learned to anticipate Curry and Thompson’s quick release on catch and shoots and throw the ball to where they would be coming out of the screen rather than where they were standing at the time of the pass.
“So if playing with Steph and Klay, I end up learning is I would have to throw the pass before they get there. Because if I don’t throw the pass before they get there, everybody in the gym is afraid and they’re gonna overreact.”
Of course, anticipation is not a precise science. Green’s passes have been successful for the most part, but he did concede that some turnovers can be committed when playing this way. But when the payoff is a near-guaranteed 3-pointer, Green was perfectly alright with getting a few turnovers attributed to his name.
Draymond Green is a sensational passer
Given that the two have played together their entire careers, it makes sense that Draymond Green has assisted Steph the most. But even during the peak of their near-telepathic chemistry, Green’s anticipatory passes would sometimes leave his teammate wondering what he was doing.
The most perfect example of this is when, during a game against the Pistons in 2021, Green spotted Curry cutting to the basket, and played the ball to where he thought the point guard would be. Steph, however, wasn’t able to react in time and got hit on the head with the ball, leading to a Warriors turnover, and a Pistons basket on the other end.
Luckily for the duo, given how that play happened barely a minute into the game, it did not set the tone for the rest of the match. Green finished the game with 6 assists, and Steph had 28 points, leading the Dubs to an easy 118-91 win.
He’s also found Thompson’s noggin a few times, with the most memorable moment being during the Dubs’ 4th championship run. Down 92-81 to the Nuggets in their 1st round matchup, Green attempted to snipe a pass to Curry. However, Klay set a late screen on the play, meaning he got inside Draymond’s passing lane, and the ball hit him on the head instead.
The two laughed about it briefly, and why wouldn’t they? They were 3-0 up in the series after all.
