All-time NBA Players #20 - #16. The Draymond Tier

Everyone here is getting a statue (hope it looks recognizable)

Eric Apricot says: This is an original series written by a friend of DubNationHQ.com. This analyzes and ranks the Top 75ish NBA players of all time. Some of you will be angered, some will think you can do better, but hopefully everyone can find something to enjoy in this journey appreciating the great historical achievements by past and present players.

• The Top 75ish NBA Players series index with full details on the ranking process

We intend for the series pieces to come out each week, covering approximately 10 players per piece.

Notation: * Means active player. 77= means tied for #77.

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*20 Draymond Green (265 BEAST points) 

Honors

• 4x Champion (2018 joint third banana with Klay, 2022 third banana) (100)

• Repeat Champion (15)

• 2x Finals Runner-up (10)

• 5x consecutive Finals (15)

• Defensive Player of the Year (5)

• 2x All NBA (4)

• All star (4)

• 8x All Defense (16)

• steals season leader (2)

• 2x Olympic Golds (6)

Individual career stats

• top ten total assists Finals (10)

• top ten total steals Finals (10)

• top 20 total rebounds Finals (5)

• top 20 total blocks Finals (5)

• top 20 total threes Finals (5)

• bonus for 5 Finals categories (25)

• top 20 assists per game Finals (3)

• top 20 steals per game Finals (3)

• top 50 Win Shares playoffs (10)

• top 20 RAPM (10)

Bonus points

• Best regular season record - 73-wins (10)

• Best playoff record - 16-1 (10)

• 28 consecutive series with a win on the road (5)

• Third best regular season win streak - 24-0 (2)

• 2015 Defensive Player of the Year egregious error (5)

• Minus losing the 2016 title (-30)

One more time for people at the back - buckle up if you hate defense!! People are going to label me a mad homer for this one but I don’t care. It wouldn’t be Draymond without some controversy. I promise I haven’t just done this to reinvigorate this series! 

Draymond is criminally underrated by many, including by a section of Warriors fans. But he is arguably the best defensive player of his generation and one of the most unique and intelligent defensive players of all time. Isn’t that worthy of some recognition? There are certainly others higher up who are as impactful on offense as Draymond was on defense in his prime, and as muted on defense as Draymond’s points per game average might suggest he was on the other end. And sure, he doesn’t fit into that “number one option” box but his impact on winning is pretty unique. Guess how many other players have a 4-point triple double on their resume?

I’ve long held the view that his defensive versatility and IQ are the other side of the coin from Steph Curry’s offensive revolution. The Warriors simply could not have been The Golden State Warriors Evil Empire without disrupting the whole way the game was played on both ends. Per basketball reference check out the Warriors defensive rating in their championship years - 1st in 2022, 11th in 2018 but 1st in the playoffs, 2nd in 2017, 1st in 2015. You can add in two top 5 finishes in 2021 and 2016 too.

That defense was built on Draymond Green’s unique skillset - his ability to switch on anyone and then back again in an instant, guard players half a foot taller than him in the post and shut off perimeter guys half a foot shorter, and co-ordinate the whole damn show as the vocal backbone of the backline. At their peak the Warriors defense was a thing of beauty, all five guys on a string rotating perfectly choking off any attack from any opponent.

One Defensive Player of the Year award shows how silly the voting for that award can be, though for Beast he is getting the points for that egregious error in 2015. It should also be remembered that he was odds-on for the 2022 award as well until a back injury held him out for over two months.

Green’s ability to play at the five at probably about 6-foot-5 gave the Warriors the secret ingredient that eluded every team that had tried to play small since the days of Don Nelson - pace without getting pummeled by bigger opponents. No other team managed what the Warriors did in going small, fast, and launching the threes until Draymond unlocked the cheat code.

Indeed he sped up the game to such a degree an entire generation of big men were basically run off the court and out of their careers. The Warriors could run you off the court and explode the scoreboard in an instant, yes because of Steph and Klay’s insane shooting, but also because of the speed they ran back down your throat with. Draymond was the tone-setter, the guy who sets the tempo, the metronome if you will. That pushing of the pace remains an unheralded part of his offensive game and it might be where his slowing down with age (and availability issues) are having the most impact on the Warriors chances of a fifth title now.

As for his role as the effective point forward, this gets a bit underplayed by those who think any old fool who could pass the ball would rack up the assists playing with Steph, Klay, and KD. Draymond’s ability to find the right pass at the right time is based on the same extrasensory perception of all angles, openings, and opportunities that underpinned his defensive IQ. Yes Kerr’s system and his teammates were a perfect fit to elevate his game, but his game was a perfect fit to elevate their games and the whole damn system into something so much greater than the sum of it’s parts. 

Then you only have to look at his legendary competitive fire which has driven the team forwards and brought out the underlying competitiveness of his teammates, showing nicer guys that it’s ok to rip your opponents heart out and dance all over it (read the stuff about CP3 and Steph’s relationship from last year and how that turned from deferential mentee to devastating tormentor). Green was the one famously pushing for the 73 wins after all. He always elevated his game in the playoffs when it mattered. There’s no accident he’s top ten in Finals steals and assists, and top 20 in Finals blocks, rebounds and threes.

But as I said it wouldn’t be Draymond without some controversy. That competitive fire has burned them too, most famously in the 2016 Finals. Yes, Lebron might have been at his most whiny and the league a little too complicit to their star in bowing to his pressure. But Green should never have put himself in a situation where that was possible, and without that suspension that season would have gone down as genuinely the greatest ever basketball season instead of the most agonizing what-if of basketball history. So he’s losing some points for flicking that ring away so carelessly there.

I have been more disappointed / outraged/ appalled by his behavior on other occasions, not least the Jordan Poole slugging, but our Beast metric tries to just count the stuff that really impacts the on-court results otherwise we’d get into a world of pain on plenty of players. While I did think they had a decent chance at a repeat that year at the time, and Green’s punch detonated all hopes of that, in retrospect that might have been a bit fanciful.

Anyway, here he is - Draymond Green in the top 20. Just like RAPM says for what it’s worth. I’m standing by this one.

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*19 Nikola Jokic (275 BEAST points) 

Honors

• Champion (30)

• Finals MVP (20)

• Conference Finals MVP (5)

• 3x MVP (one under 50 wins) (60)

• Repeat MVP (15)

• MVP Runner-up points (6)

• 6x All NBA (4x First Team) (16)

• All Star (7)

• 2x Olympic medallist (one silver, one bronze) (2)

• Olympics First Team (3)

• ABA (formerly Adriatic League) MVP (1)

Individual career stats

• top 10 playoffs points per game (5)

• top 20 assists per game playoffs (3)

• top 20 rebounds per game playoffs (3)

• top TS% regular season (20)

• top 5 TS% playoffs (20)

• top 75 regular season Win Shares (1)

• top 50 Win Shares playoffs (10)

• top 5 RAPM (20)

Bonus points

• third most playoff triple doubles (3)

• 100+ career triple doubles (3)

• most triple doubles in single playoffs (minor playoff record) (3)

• 50 point playoff game (3)

• Only NBA player to reach at least 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, and 500 assists in a single season (3)

• First player in NBA history to record 30+ points, 20+ rebounds, and 10+ assists in an NBA Finals game (5)

• First player in NBA history to record 500+ points, 250+ rebounds and 150+ assists in a single postseason (5)

• First player in Olympic basketball history to lead the Olympic tournament in points, rebounds and assists (3)

Nikola Jokic is a phenomenal, fantastic, dominant player. His mastery of the game and grace and beauty by which he plays it is undisputed. Outside of the Warriors he might be my favorite player just to sit and watch play the game of basketball. He will easily finish in Beast’s top 15 by the time he’s done. Just racking up those stats will shoot him up the charts. He’s sitting here on the basis of one ring and a whole bunch of insane statistical production, but he’s still really just scratching the surface of totals and cumulative advanced stats. Imagine if he can win another ring or two, which frankly he absolutely should be in a position to.

Which brings me to what I really want to discuss. Can we talk about the absolute crime against basketball that the Denver Nuggets are perpetrating here? This is an all-time great at the peak of his powers, capable of elevating his teammates to epic heights. It doesn’t matter that he barely jumps, doesn’t really protect the paint in the way you’d expect a big man to (an interesting counterpoint to our previous entry), or eschews the superstar limelight in favor of horses. The Denver Nuggets will probably wait 50 years again for a player this special. 

So why on earth are they throwing this precious window away? I get that there wasn’t much they could do under the rules to keep Bruce Brown, though the overpay for Michael Porter Jr was totally their fault and contributed to some of their roster decisions. But KCP was entirely in their gift to retain and was a crucial part of their championship team. But it’s ok they protest! We have a bunch of late first-round picks who can pick up the slack. Um, yeah. The Warriors tried that with Jordan Bell, Jacob Evans and Patrick McCaw. Sure every five years you might hit on Kevon Looney or Jordan Poole (the good version). But you’re much more likely to end up with limited players who can’t do all the things you need on the court at the same time to win. Oh, it’s ok we’ll just get a solid vet in. Ok, who ya got? 2024 RUSSELL FREAKING WESTBROOK THAT’S WHO!! 

They deserve to be a play-in team, but not so bad they luck into Cooper Flagg or Ace Bailey. Frankly it is absolutely a grand felony against basketball and the ownership and front office should be arrested by the basketball police and carted off to basketball jail. Or encouraged to take over the Clippers. Either is fine.

As for Jokic, I’m so sorry dude. You’re going to have to do what so many stars on small mindset teams have had to and gtfo out of there. The advice from the next entry - don’t wait too long.

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18 Kevin Garnett (281 BEAST points) 

Honors

• Championship (30)

• Finals runner-up (5)

• MVP (25)

• MVP runner-up points (13)

• 9x All NBA (4x First Team) (22)

• 12x All Defense (24)

• Defensive Player of the Year (5)

• DPOY + MVP bonus (25)

• 15 All Star (15)

• 4x rebounding season leader (8)

• Olympic Gold (3)

Individual career stats

• top 30 total points (10)

• top 10 total rebounds (15)

• top 30 total steals (3)

• top 20 total blocks (5)

• Bonus for four top categories (25)

• top 30 total blocks Finals (3)

• top 10 Win Shares regular season (10)

• top 50 Win Shares playoffs (10)

• top 5 RAPM (20)

Bonus points

• Only NBA player to reach at least 25,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, 5,000 assists, 1,500 steals, and 1,500 blocks (5)

Yeah, about that. Kevin Garnett wasted so many years toiling away on rubbish Minnesota teams. But what a player he was. An all-time defender, trash talker, and offensive threat across the board. He’s recognised by Beast for his high level production on both ends, his advanced stats, his stuffing of the stat sheet across multiple categories, and his DPOY + MVP combo. And of course his ring with the Celtics.

I feel pretty good about where’s he’s ended up given his limited championship jewelry, proving Beast isn’t just about the rings. But I still feel he’s a little robbed in general discussions of this sort. If he’d left Minnesota earlier and won another ring or two he’d get discussed more as one of the all time great power forwards. He did after all go toe-to-toe with Tim Duncan over much of their respective primes. Even if KG had got the Finals MVP in 2008 that’d bump him up. But that was a case of offense being valued more than defense and went to Paul Pierce, who had a perfectly worthy case himself to be fair.

Anyway I’m glad Beast recognises Beast, because KG was definitely one of those.

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17 Jerry West (289 BEAST points) 

Honors

• Champion (25)

• 4x Runner-up early era (12)

• 4x Runner-up expansion era (20)

• three consecutive Finals (3)

• Finals MVP (15)

• MVP runner-up points (14)

• 34 All NBA (10x 1st team)

• 5x All Defense (10)

• All Star (14)

• Scoring Champion (5)

• season leader assists (2)

• Olympic Gold (3)

• NCAA Final Four MVP (1)

Individual career stats

• top 20 total points (15)

• top 30 total assists (3)

• most points in Finals (20)

• top 20 rebounds in Finals (5)

• Top 5 assists Finals (15)

• top ten points per game(3)

• top 5 points per game playoffs (10)

• top 5 in points per game Finals (10)

• top 30 TS% Finals (5)

• top 20 Win Shares playoffs (20)

• top 30 Win Shares regular season (3)

Bonus points

• 33-win streak (5)

• Third best regular season record (69-13) (3)

• 60-point game (1)

• 2x playoff 50-point games (one Finals) (8)

• 5th most points per game in a Finals series (4)

The logo! A dominant player from a bygone era. West was one of the game’s great guards from the early NBA through to our emerging era. He was a fixture in the Finals, bumping up against the Celtics dynasty for much of the 1960s. Eventually he got over that hump and then told KD that story which helped convince him to come to the Warriors, so thanks for that! 

All those statistical feats, the most total points in the finals, top 5 points per game in the playoffs and finals, top 20 total points, he achieved as a perimeter player in an era with no three-point line. That sees him in these lofty heights with only one ring in the emerging era or an MVP to juice up his beast score. Genuinely impressive stuff. 

It is true the league was different in the 1960s and as previously outlined Beast does adjust for factors like fewer teams and fewer playoff rounds through lower scores for championships, MVPs and such. It is also true that the athleticism, and sometimes the skill level of some players (you can make this point without resorting to disrespectful comments about plumbers and mailmen) does not always hold up to today’s game. But there’s no doubt much of that reflects the progress in sports science, nutrition, training, and general skill development. If you put guys like West or Cousy or Oscar Robertson in today’s game with all of those developmental advantages feeding into their games they’d look very different to the grainy tape we view them through now. To me there’s an arrogance from judging past eras through our own narrow time and culture. As with any serious study of history, you have to try to situate yourself in that era and see how their achievements stack up against their contemporaries. 

Only then can you try to see these eras together and pinpoint what areas where it’s reasonable to make some universal adjustments as Beast attempts to (eg it’s obviously easier to win a title in an era of 9 teams and two playoff rounds than 30 and four full 7-game series). I do have a lot of sympathy with those who say that’s the impossible bit because, well, it basically is. So as some of our wise community have said you can’t take it all too seriously. But also if you cut off the list for just the modern NBA (wherever you set the limit) you cut out guys like Jerry West who paved the way for everyone else, and that just doesn’t feel right to me in a discussion of all time greats. 

 

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16 Dwayne Wade (291 BEAST points) 

Honors

• 3x Champion (90)

• Repeat champion (15)

• 2x Finals runner-up (10)

• 4 consecutive Finals (10)

• Finals MVP (20)

• MVP runner-up points (4)

• 8x All NBA (2x First Team) (18)

• 3x All Defense (6)

• Scoring Champion (5)

• All Star (12)

• Olympic Gold (3)

Individual career stats

• top 40 total points (5)

• top 30 steals (3)

• top ten steals Finals (10)

• top 20 points Finals (5)

• top 30 assists Finals (3)

• top 20 blocks Finals (5)

• top 30 threes Finals (3)

• Bonus points for 5 Finals categories (25)

• top 20 points per game Finals (3)

• top 20 steals per game Finals (3)

• top 30 TS% Finals (5)

• top 50 Win Shares regular season (2)

• top 20 Win Shares playoffs (20)

Bonus points

• top 10 points per game in a Finals series (3)

• 27-win streak (3)

D-Wade comes flying in and dunks all over this section of the list. Fine by me. At his peak there were few guards more athletic or effective around the rim. His defense kind of remains a bit forgotten but he was a terror in the skies on that end too. Has there been a better shot-blocking guard?

As with West he’s managed to get this high up without an MVP trophy, a recognition that sometimes the MVP award isn’t the greatest judge of who the best players in the league are at any one time. Wade’s got some recognition from advanced stats, coming in at top 20 for playoff Win Shares, as well as counting stats across the board ranking in 5 Finals categories.

Wade does well out of the Miami Heatles years of course, but he also gets a boost from his first ring with Shaq, where let’s not forget he was named the Finals MVP for his exploits.

(As an aside, just look at how stagnant and uncreative NBA offenses were just 20 years ago in the stagnant iso-heavy post-Jordan era. It’s not just the grainy footage of old-timers that makes you appreciate how much the NBA evolves over time.)

Anyway yeah, he gets some benefit from playing alongside all-time greats in Miami, a team who do seem to be able to put talent together when they have a great player on their roster. Should he be punished for that? A core belief of our Beast is to reflect that just as players like Jokic or Garnett shouldn’t be punished for their team’s crappy choices so there’s plenty to boost individual exploits, so too should great players who played for front offices who weren’t complete incompetents be recognised for their team-first efforts. Wade won those rings fair and square - he was a vital leading star of two championship teams, dominating on both ends of the court. So that’s why he’s here.