With the acquisition of the Golden State Warriors of star Kevin Durant, Draymond Green has seen a dip in his scoring averages but he remains dominant in the other aspects of his game, prompting him to say he is one of the best players in the NBA.
The burly forward out of Michigan State, who is known to be a triple-double machine and the heart of the Warriors squad that won the Larry O'Brien trophy in 2015, is norming 10.9 points in Golden State's first 10 games, 3.1 points behind his 2015-2016 average. Amid the drop in points, Green leads the Warriors in rebounds, (10.1), assists (7.1), steals (2.3) and blocks (1.6), according to NBA stats.
"I think I'm one of the best players in the NBA," Green said in a story by ESPN. "Am I going to go out and score 30 every night? Absolutely not. But I didn't say I was one of the best scorers. I think I'm one of the best players, and I think anybody should believe that."
Upon the arrival of Durant, Green submitted four single-digit scoring games in the Warriors' first five games but picked up the slack with four double-digit games in the last five games.
Green said his drop in production is not sacrificial but just a smart decision to feed his teammates Durant and Splash Brothers Steph Curry and Klay Thompson who are considered on the top-tier of the NBA's best in terms of scoring. Durant leads the Warriors in scoring with 27.7 points per game while the two-time MVP Curry scores 27.2 ppg. Thompson, amid also seeing a drop in his scoring, is norming a respectable 18.8 ppg.
Despite saying he is one of the best, Green downplayed that he is not better than teammates Durant, Curry and Thompson, saying it is just how he sees himself on a basketball perspective.
Green added the only thing he was not expecting to sacrifice coming to the season is his rebounding, noting that rebounding is the aspect that needs effort and hustle to excel in, things he has always believed in the first place.