When Draymond Green was named to the All-Star reserves on Thursday afternoon, it marked the culmination of a two-year promise he made to himself.
During the 2019-20 season, the Warriors were abysmal. Steph Curry’s broken hand caused him to miss virtually the entire season and Golden State finished dead last in the NBA with a 15-50 record after making five straight trips to the Finals.
Green pinned a lot of the blame on himself, vowing that he would improve in 2020-21 before becoming an All-Star in 2022. He was right.
“It’s a very special thing,” Green said Thursday of his fourth career All-Star invite. “Because two years ago, when I had probably the worst season of my basketball career – including my first year ever playing in first grade – I made a goal, a two-year plan of how can I get back to the All-Star. … The reality is, that year I was so terrible. I was so out of it, like, drained and exhausted.”
Green’s self-declaration was just one part of a bigger plan he has in mind.
“I made a goal to get back to playing good basketball again last year, re-establishing Draymond Green as a basketball player, as a brand,” Green said. "That was my goal going into last year, in hopes that that would lead me to coming into an Olympics – which I did, won a gold medal – and then coming into this season in shape, which I did, in hopes that it would ultimately lead me to an All-Star appearance and that would lead me to another defensive player of the year trophy and then ultimately leading us to a championship.”
“Up until this point, I have executed that plan to the ‘T.’ I still think I can execute my last two things and that’s my goal.”
So Draymond has the DPOY and a fourth championship circled on his 2022 to-do list. Green was a top candidate to win his second career DPOY before his injury and said he still thinks it’s possible. As he noted, Kawhi Leonard beat him out for the award in 2015 despite playing just 64 games. But Green has already missed 19 of his team’s possible 52 games so far.
“I just gotta get back and dominate,” Green said. “One thing’s for certain – there’s no one that’s played better defense than me this year. If I hadn’t got hurt, I would have won it by a landslide.”
Listen to Bay Area sports talk now on Audacy and shop the latest Warriors team gear
First things first, he has to get back on the court.
Green, who hasn’t played since making a ceremonial start on Klay Day on Jan. 9, also gave a detailed update on his calf/back injury Thursday and said he hopes to return to the court in three to four weeks. The Warriors are expected to re-evaluate green during the All-Star break from Feb. 18 to Feb. 23.
Green last made the All-Star team in 2018 and admitted Thursday he had doubts he’d ever make it back.
“I was a three-time All-Star at one point and never thought I’d become a four-time All-Star,” Green said. “I’m not going to sit here and lie to you like it’s no big deal. It’s really a big deal. In part due to a lot of people counting me out, saying I was washed-up, saying I can’t shoot and the game is past me, this, that and the other. … A lot of people doubted me and to be honest with you, at times it made me doubt myself. But I never stopped believing in myself.”
