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Stephen Curry is still getting better, says Draymond Green

Stephen Curry yesterday passed Ray Allen to become the NBA’s all-time leader in regular season three-pointers made. Here’s the San Jose Mercury News with more:

The people who mattered most to Steph Curry in his lifelong journey to becoming the NBA’s all-time 3-point king were at Madison Square Garden Tuesday night to share the moment with the Golden State Warriors’ transcendent star.

As coach Steve Kerr said, “The fact that they’re here with him tonight tells you everything about Steph.”

One of those people is Brandon Payne, the personal trainer whom Curry has worked with since his rookie season. Payne, who lives in North Carolina, dropped everything to traverse the country over the past week to make sure he was there in person.

Not only does Curry credit his longevity for allowing him to reach the 3-point record, at age 33, by all accounts, he is only refining his physique.

“I don’t think he’s ever been stronger, physically,” Kerr said.

“I think he’s still getting better, which is scary,” added Draymond Green.

Jazz center Rudy Gobert wins 2020-21 NBA Defensive Player of the Year award

Rudy Gobert has done it again. The Jazz center was named 2020-21 NBA Defensive Player of the Year today, marking the third time he’s won the award. Gobert joins Dwight Howard, Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace as the only players in NBA history to win the award three-or-more times.

Gobert (7-1, 256, France) led the NBA among qualified players in defensive rating (100.6), defensive win shares (5.2), defensive rebounds (10.1) and was second in blocks per game (2.7) during the 2020-21 season. He also led the NBA in +/- (+728) and total rebounds (960). Helping the Jazz to the best-record in the NBA at 52-20, and the team’s first overall no. 1 seed in franchise history, the eight-year pro was the anchor to the NBA’s third best defense, which owned a defensive rating of 107.5. According to FiveThirtyEight’s defensive RAPTOR metric, Gobert posted the highest such rating (+8.0) last season by a player since 1977.

On the offensive end, he led the NBA in field goal percentage (.675), dunks (231) and was second in screen assists per game (6.1). For the year, he finished with 14.3 points, a career-high-tying 13.5 boards, 2.7 blocks and 1.3 assists in 30.8 minutes per game. The Frenchman posted the third most double-doubles in the NBA with 49 and was named an All-Star for the second-straight season.

In addition to winning the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year Award in three seasons (2018, 2019 and 2021) and being named a two-time NBA All-Star (2020, 2021), Gobert has been named to the All-NBA Second Team (2017), selected to the All-NBA Third Team twice (2019, 2020) and received All-NBA Defensive First Team honors in four seasons (2017-20).

Appearing in 545 games (453 starts), he owns career averages of 12.0 points, 11.3 rebounds, 2.2 blocks and 1.3 steals in 29.7 minutes per contest. Over the last five seasons no other player in the NBA has more blocks (855) than Gobert and he’s collected 4,554 boards during that stretch, the second most in the NBA.

Competing in his fifth-straight postseason, Gobert has helped Utah to the 2021 Western Conference Semifinals, averaging 16.2 points, 12.8 rebounds and 3.0 blocks in 32.7 minutes per game during the playoff run.

Gobert has passed the late Mark Eaton for the most Defensive Player of the Year honors in Jazz history with Eaton winning twice in 1985 and 1989.

Other finalists for NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year were Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons and Golden State’s Draymond Green. Gobert received 84 first-place votes and earned 464 points from a global panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters. Simmons finished in second place with 287 points (15 first-place votes). Green finished in third place with 76 points. Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote.

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In NBA real estate news, Draymond Green buys new house

Warriors forward Draymond Green has reportedly bought a new $9.6 million house in California. Here’s the San Jose Mercury News reporting:

Though he’s played solely for the Golden State Warriors since the 2012 NBA draft, it appears Draymond Green is looking to spend his future off-seasons a bit further south of San Francisco. The three-time All-Star and Michigan native has bounced into a lavish estate in L.A.’s prestigious Brentwood area, the same neighborhood that is also home to other superstar ballers like LeBron James, Blake Griffin, and Russell Westbrook.

The $9.6 million house picked out by Green and his fiancee, television personality Hazel Renee (“Basketball Wives,” “Real Housewives of Atlanta”) is essentially all-new, completed in 2019 and described in listing materials as a “timeless Georgian Colonial.” Complete with elegant snow white paint and jet black trim, the mansion is indisputably grand and guaranteed to impress guests with its multitude of high-style sconces, plus its columned porch and soaring roofline.

Inside, a two-story foyer with paneled walls and checkerboard marble floors sets the tone for the rest of the public rooms, which are decidedly posh and veer toward the formal side of the decor spectrum. There’s a gourmet kitchen with Italian marble countertops and luxe Woolf appliances that connects to the dining room and adjoining wine closet, plus a butler’s pantry servicing a lounge-like den. The living room and downstairs private office are both equipped with fireplaces and bronze chandeliers, and European oak hardwood lines the floors.

Sounds solid.

Okay, it sounds fantastic.

We’ve enjoyed Dray’s commentary on Inside the NBA on TNT. He’s got a bright future as an NBA analyst once his playing days are over. But that’s not anytime soon. Right now, the Warriors will be focused on using their lottery pick to add to their already star-filled cast.

Draymond Green sits in on Warriors NBA Draft workouts

It’s always interesting learning about a team’s individual draft workout style. What players do at the workout, who they’re working out with, who on the team is in attendance, etc. In the case of the Warriors, do-almost-everything forward Draymond Green sat in yesterday. Here’s NBC Sports Bay Area with more:

The Warriors on Tuesday brought in six more draft hopefuls, who went through drills under the watchful eyes of the five most significant layers of the team.

CEO Joe Lacob was there, as was general manager Bob Myers, assistant GM/chief scout Larry Harris, assistant coach Ron Adams and…forward Draymond Green.

This is a glimpse into the inner workings of the Warriors, a hoops democracy in which every voice is given a chance to be heard.

It’s conceivable, though, that no one’s words carried more weight than those of Green, who continues to prove his value to the franchise goes beyond defending, rebounding, playmaking and scoring.

Full article

Draymond Green crashes Pelicans huddle

The Warriors have eliminated the Pelicans in five games. During Game 5 last night, GS forward Draymond Green successfully eavesdropped on a Pelicans huddle and mostly got away with it. Here’s the San Jose Mercury News reporting:

Draymond Green revealed a bit of his silly side on Tuesday.

In the first quarter of the Warriors’ 113-104 win over New Orleans, he took a break from jawing with Rajon Rondo and firing up his team to engage in some levity.

As Pelicans’ coach Alvin Gentry gave instructions to Rondo, Green walked over and joined their huddle — until a referee yanked him away.

“I saw the play,” Green said. “They were watching something of us. It was good.”

Full article

Draymond Green wins 2016-17 NBA Defensive Player of the Year award

Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green has been named the 2016-17 NBA Defensive Player of the Year, the league announced yesterday at the inaugural NBA Awards in New York. Green, who finished as the runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year in each of the past two seasons, is the first player in Warriors history to earn the award.

Green was named to the All-NBA Third Team this season after averaging 10.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 1.38 blocks in 32.5 minutes over 76 games, while leading the league with a career-high 2.03 steals. The 6’7” forward became the first player to tally averages of at least 10 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, two steals and one block over the course of a season since blocks and steals were first recorded in 1973-74, while becoming the first player in Warriors history to total at least 150 steals and 100 blocks in a single campaign. Earlier today, Green was named to the All-Defensive First Team for a third consecutive season, becoming the first player in Warriors history to earn First Team honors three times.

Throughout the 2016-17 campaign, Green made several key defensive stops in the final moments of close games, including steals on the last possession of two-point wins on Nov. 19 at Milwaukee (8.5 seconds remaining) and Dec. 13 at New Orleans (2.3 seconds). Green ranked second in the league in deflections per game (3.9) and fifth in contested shots per game (13.7), helping the Warriors rank second in the league in defensive rating (101.1). On Feb. 10 at Memphis, Green swiped a franchise-record 10 steals and recorded the first triple-double in NBA history without scoring in double figures, adding 11 rebounds and 10 assists to go with his 10 steals.

Golden State went an NBA-best 67-15 (.817) in 2016-17, becoming the first team in NBA history to win at least 67 games in three-straight seasons (67, 73, 67), and set an NBA postseason record for best single-season playoff winning percentage with a 16-1 mark (.941) en route to the team’s second NBA title in three seasons.

Utah’s Rudy Gobert and San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard were also named as finalists for the Defensive Player of the Year Award. The NBA Awards are chosen by a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters.

Draymond Green named to NBA All-Defensive First Team

Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green has been named to the 2016-17 NBA All-Defensive First Team, the league announced today. Green has been named to the All-Defensive First Team in each of the last three seasons, becoming the first player in Warriors history to earn three such honors.

Green, who was also named to the All-NBA Third Team this season, tallied averages of 10.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 1.38 blocks in 32.5 minutes over 76 games, while leading the league with a career-high 2.03 steals. The 6’7” forward became the first player to tally averages of at least 10 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, two steals and one block over the course of a season since blocks and steals were first recorded in 1973-74, while becoming the first player in Warriors history to total at least 150 steals and 100 blocks in a single campaign.

Draymond Green makes fun comments about Cleveland fans

Warriors forward Draymond Green is a great quote. He’s got big personality and unleashes lots of fun stuff when speaking to the media. And he didn’t hold back when discussing his thoughts on fans in Cleveland.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, “asked Sunday whether he regretted saying after Game 4 that Clevelanders “don’t seem to be the sharpest people around,” Green detailed why he seized the opportunity to deride the opposing fan base. “I didn’t bash them,” Green said. “I just gave my thoughts.”

More from the Chronicle: After the referees told the scorekeepers that the first technical should have been assigned to Kerr, Green stepped back on the court. In the wake of Golden State’s 137-116 loss, when a reporter asked him whether he had noticed that the first technical had been announced as his, Green said: “I don’t pay much attention to anybody in Cleveland, honestly. Don’t seem to be the sharpest people around. So, whatever.”

Trash-talk on the court is fun. And off the court? Still fun. Green won’t label this trash-talking. He’s merely expressing his opinion. And if anybody takes offense, that’s their problem!

But seriously: Green is fun, and we enjoy hearing his take on just about anything. Especially the opposition.

Draymond Green shines, Warriors win NBA Finals Game 2

Here’s CSN Bay Area reporting on Sunday’s Finals Game 2, which thanks to Draymond Green and friends resulted in a blowout Warriors victory for a 2-0 Golden State championship series lead:

The Cleveland Cavaliers came into the NBA Finals with a clear defensive game plan that essentially insults Warriors forward Draymond Green.

The strategy: Lay off him and spend your defensive energy on his teammates, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson in particular.

This did not go well for the Cavs in Game 1 and was downright disastrous in Game 2 Sunday night.

Given plenty of room to shoot or pass, Green as a frequent ball-handler did plenty of both and was largely responsible for a 110-77 demolition of the Eastern Conference champions before an ecstatic sellout crowd (19,596) at Oracle Arena…

Green poured in a game-high 28 points, draining 5-of-8 from 3-point distance, adding seven rebounds and a team-high-trying five assists. He committed one turnover, posting a plus-20 in 34 minutes of playing time.

Draymond Green must still be extra careful for rest of playoffs

Warriors forward Draymond Green escaped suspension for his kick to Thunder center Steven Adams, though he still needs to be extra careful for the rest of the playoffs, as the Oklahoman explains:

On Monday, the Golden State Warriors forward was fined $25,000 and his Flagrant “1” foul on Thunder center Steven Adams in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals was upgraded to a Flagrant “2”. The ruling puts Green dangerously close to missing a postseason game, but keeps him eligible for Tuesday’s game at Chesapeake Energy Arena…

Green said Monday that his first thought was the Flagrant “1” was going to get rescinded and that he wouldn’t be facing a suspension…

Green already had a Flagrant “1” foul (worth one point) entering the series with the Thunder. Add that to the upgrade to a Flagrant “2” (worth two points), and Green is one point away from an automatic one-game suspension. Under NBA rules, if a player’s playoff total exceeds three points, he’s suspended for the game after his point total has exceeded three.