The Golden State Warriors built a successful dynasty around a big three of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green, and that trio has all cemented themselves as NBA legends. The star trio won four championships together in Golden State, largely because they were all able to play their specific role.
Of course, Curry gets much of the credit as the greatest three-point shooter of all time and arguably a top ten player in NBA history, but even he would not have been able to win championships without Green doing the dirty work.
Green, 35, was one of the most hated players in the NBA for years, and still could be, but his on-court impact won the Warriors four championships. Green has cemented himself as one of the best defenders the NBA has ever seen, as a one-time Defensive Player of the Year and nine-time All-Defensive Team member.
Throughout his 13-year career, Green has been the perfect partner for Curry and has always been a great leader and team player for the Warriors, with the exception of a handful of incidents where he let his emotions get the best of him.
Former Chicago Bulls guard and NBA legend Dwyane Wade recently went on his podcast, Wy Network, to talk about Green’s legacy as a player.
“I just think that if someone wants to argue about Draymond’s individual ranking, they just want to argue,” Wade said. “…Draymond Green’s career would not be talked about him as an individual player. It would be talked about him as a winner, as a team player, as a leader, all these things. Like, if you’re a Draymond fan, you can’t care what Draymond is ranked as an individual player because he doesn’t go out with that individual mentality.”
Dwyane Wade says Draymond Green’s legendary career will be talked about as a leader, team player, and winner🫡
“Draymond Green’s career will not be talked about him as an individual player. It will be talked about him as a winner, team player, and leader.” pic.twitter.com/0OMuQjAwwS
— Wy Network by Dwyane Wade (@wynetwork) August 18, 2025
Green is typically well respected among his peers, and Hall of Fame guard Dwyane Wade showing him this type of respect should be very meaningful for the Warriors star. And, Wade makes a great point.
Green is far from an individually-minded player, and is certainly one of the greatest players of all time who does not care about how many points he scores and is simply a team-first player on both sides of the court.
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