SAN FRANCISCO – Draymond Green could not help but rise from the podium and take a few steps away, before returning to the spotlight seconds later.
After all, what had just transpired deserved a dramatic flourish.
The veteran forward had just spent the past five minutes explaining the importance of defense, concurring with MVP candidate Victor Wembanyama on a point the young star had made in San Antonio a few days prior.
“My first one would be that defense is 50 percent of the game and that is undervalued, so far, in the MVP race,” Wembanyama said. “I believe I’m the most impactful player defensively in the league. Second argument would be that we almost swept OKC in the season and we dominated them three times with their real team and four times with the, you know, more rotation players. My third argument would be that offense impact is not just points.”
Wembanyama emphasized his defensive impact as a reason that he should be a MVP frontrunner, and Green was inclined to agree with a monologue he said he both “loved” and “hated.”
“Everybody wants to crush Luka Doncic when Luka doesn’t live up to the standard of defense, but we’ve got this guy defending entire teams, and no one took it into account until he said defense is 50% of the game,” Green said.
He then took a moment to pause.
Then Green continued, “I want to give him so much credit for such a profound statement, but honestly, was it really that profound? But it’s so true.”
Green was a plus-11 in the Warriors’ 109-106 victory over the Nets and made two late free throws to help secure the win, but his greatest performance at Chase Center occurred in the postgame press conference.
He adored the way Wembanyama advocated for himself as an MVP candidate, and Green spent part of his soliloquy panning voters who ignored that side of the ball until Spurs superstar made it a point to address it.
“All of a sudden, you turn on the TV, and everybody is like, maybe Wemby is the MVP,” Green said. “I can agree with that, maybe he is.”
He noted that for those who put importance into statistics, Wembanyama’s league-leading 3.1 blocks per game should be enough to convince voters.
But advanced statistics and film study shows that the 7-foot-5 center provides the kind of one-man deterrence that Green – in his own and different way – once provided the Warriors.
Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green #23 and teammate Will Richard #3 celebrate their 109-106 NBA win against the Brooklyn Nets at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
Though Green is still, by at least his own admission, a top defensive player, his motor has slowed since those dynastic days.
However, even as the team trudges to a play-in spot rather than a top seed, Green was adamant that the Warriors’ standard of competitiveness cannot change.
After all, what kind of person would Green be if he only put in effort during the good times?
“We use a word around here all the time, frontrunners, and I think one thing we did through our dominant run was take advantage of frontrunners,” Green said, sneering at the word.
The thought of mailing in what has become a lost season was equally as galling for Green.
I can’t do that to these guys,” Green said. “Could I throw in the towel? Possibly. But what does that look like then for a guy like Gui Santos, what does that look like Brandin Podziemski. You’re talking about guys that are trying to build themselves a career.”
Green later continued, “When it goes down a tad, I’m not jumping off the train. It is what it is. I have a lot of pride and a lot to fight for. I can’t throw the towel in on these guys, because who would they turn to then?”
One of the reasons this season has been one to forget for the Warriors has been their steady stream of injuries. As of late, Steph Curry’s sore knee has been a constant source of discussion around the team.
He has not played since Jan. 30, and his return has no firm date.
Should the Warriors want to play their 38-year-old superstar in the late stages of a campaign that appears destined to end in the play-in tournament?
Green, as he did all night, remained blunt.
“I know he’ll be out there when he’s healthy, but I think that if there’s an inkling of a doubt that he’s not in the space he needs to be in, no I don’t (think he should be out there),” Green said.