Draymond Jamal Green was born on March 4, 1990, in Saginaw, Michigan. He attended Saginaw High School and this is where his journey with basketball started. He played for coach Lou Dawkins, averaging 12 points, 11 rebounds as a sophomore and making incredible improvement. He finished his junior year with 25 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and three steals, leading the team to Class A State Championships with an almost impeccable record.
In 2007, he signed a letter of intent to play for Michigan State, after considering other options. At the end of his senior year, Green had an average of 20 points, 13 rebounds, and two blocks as he led the team to the Class A State Championship again. He was rated 13th power forward in the US and named a captain of the Detroit Free Press All-State Dream Team.
Draymond Green – College Career
The start of the college career was a little bit slow, as for his freshman season with Spartans, Green averaged 3.3 points and 3.3 rebounds, but he improved thanks to Michigan State’s 2009 NCAA tournament championship run and finished with 8.5 points per game and 5.3 rebounds per game and led the team in shooting percentage with .679 from the field.
In 2009-10 Green made history, being unanimously named Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year, as the first Michigan State player ever. He also gained the Most Improved Player title, as well as Chairman of the Boards and Antonio Smith awards. He had seven games with double-doubles and posted season-high 19 points twice.
Draymond Green – First Career Triple-Double
As a junior, Green recorded his first triple-double, becoming the third player in Michigan State history to do so, after Charlie Bell and Magic Johnson. He repeated his performance in the 2011 NCAA Tournament, for which he was selected to All-Big Ten third team for the second consecutive year.
For the 2011-12 season, Green became a captain for regular matches as well as the championships. The Spartans went on to win their 13th conference title, and Green was selected the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Player of the Week four times. He was unanimously selected to All-Big Ten first team and won the Big Ten Player of the Year honors.
In March 2012, he made his third triple-double, second in the NCAA tournament history. Later this month he placed himself as the top rebounder in Michigan State, compiling 1,096 rebounds throughout his college career. He concluded his university run with over 1000 points and over 1000 rebounds.
Draymond Green – Golden State Warriors
Draymond Green was the 35th overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft and signed a three-year contract with the Golden State Warriors. Upon his NBA debut, he managed to play only for one minute and make one rebound along with one foul. He was trusted with more playing time in later games because his teammates were injured.
At first, he played around 10 minutes, but as his time increased, the Warriors started to win. He made a lay-up that upped the Warriors the crucial points in a game on December 12, in a win over the Miami Heat 97-95. The Warriors went onto the playoffs, where they had their first victory over San Antonio Spurs, in a game in which Green played 32 minutes and had 5 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists. Ultimately, the Spurs won the series and the Warriors were out of the competition.
Before the 2013-14 season, Green had improved his shooting as well as defense and lost 20 pounds thanks to intense training. His ego certainly grew as he was ejected from the December 25th game upon getting flagrant foul 2. Later, he was fined for not leaving the court quickly enough. On April 14, 2014, in the Golden State Warriors’ final game of the regular season, Green had a career-high 20 points and a career-high 12 rebounds off the bench.
Green finished the 2013–14 season with all 82 games and 12 starts, posting 6.2 points and 5.0 rebounds per game in those outings. He played in all of the first-round games, but the Warriors lost to the Clippers 4 to 3. During the series, he received acclaim for his tenacious defending.
Draymond Green – NBA Championship
For the 2014-15 season, Green was promoted to the starting lineup because of his teammate, David Lee, injury. The Warriors started the season with the 5-2 record, but they bounced back and went on a 16-game winning streak, with Green’s contribution, as he posted career-high 31 points on December 6.
On January 2, 2015, Green posted his first NBA triple-double with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 13 assists. He was just one short of becoming the Defensive Player of the Year Award and the Most Improved Player Award. He also posted a triple-double in the NBA finals clinching game. The Warriors won the 2015 NBA Finals.
Draymond Green – All-Star
The Warriors re-signed Green for the 2015-16 season, as he received a five-year, 82 million dollars contract. The team went on to post the best start in the league’s history, going 16-0. On November 27, Green recorded his third career triple-double, just to repeat that in the following game and become the first Warrior since Wilt Chamberlain in 1964 with back-to-back triple-doubles.
He broke another record, and on December 11, became just the second player in NBA history to have five or more in all five major statistical categories. He compiled 24 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists, 5 steals, and 5 blocks. Thanks to this effort, the Warriors were on a 24-0 streak, which was sadly broken by the Milwaukee Bucks the following day.
Green became the second Warrior to achieve three straight triple-doubles on January 4th, helping the team to have their 35th straight home win. For his accomplishments this season, Green was named to the All-Star Western Conference reserve. But he didn’t rest on his laurels, as he recorded his 12th triple-double on March 27.
A few days later, Green became the first player in NBA history to accomplish 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 500 assists, 100 steals, and 100 blocks during a season. He was selected to the All-NBA Seam and was one short for the Defensive Player of the Year honors.
The Warriors had the best season that one could imagine. In the finals, Green faced LeBron James, as they had an altercation and had to be separated, which resulted in the suspension of Green for Game 5. The Warriors lost the Finals to the Miami Heat in seven games, which was a surprising and unfortunate ending to their run that could be such a thrilling victory. In-game 7, Green posted 32 points and 15 rebounds.
Draymond Green – The Second NBA Championship
At the beginning of the 2016-17 regular season, Green recorded three triple-doubles, despite the early ankle injury, and was named to the Western Conference NBA All-Star reserve. On February 10, 2017, Green made an unusual triple-double with 12 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 steals, while he scored only four points. He was the only second player to do so, after Alvin Robertson in 1986. The performance established the Warriors record for most steals in a game.
Before entering the playoffs as the first seed, Green made his 19th career triple-double. During the playoffs, the Warriors went on a 12-0 record, making history. In the NBA Finals, they faced LeBron James, but this time with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Golden State won the Championships and Draymond Green became the first Warrior ever to win the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award.
Draymond Green – The Third NBA Championship
In the 2017-18 opener, Green strained his left knee and had to exit the game after scoring nine points, 13 assists, and 11 rebounds and the Warriors lost to the Houston Rockets. They bounced back quickly and on December 25th, Green filled out the stat sheet and made his 20th career triple-double.
At the start of January of 2018, Green became the franchise triple-double leader, posting the 21st triple-double of his NBA run. On January 20, 2018, he scored 21 points and grabbed seven rebounds thereby passing 4,000 career points while also having 3,000 career rebounds.
The Warriors went into the playoffs, where they swept the Spurs in the first round, and met the New Orleans Pelicans in the second round. In-game 1, Green had his fourth postseason triple-double, setting a new Warriors’ record. In Game 4, Draymond became just the third player in franchise history to have 800 playoff rebounds, just to top that in the NBA Finals, and pass Wilt Chamberlain in the most rebounds in playoff history made by a Warrior. The Golden State Warriors won championships for the second straight year by sweeping the Cavaliers in four games.
Draymond Green – Fall from Grace
Before the 2018-19 season, Green was limited because of his knee injury, but he managed to get back into the first 10 games of the season, but after that, he was ruled out for two games, because of a foot injury. The emotions were brewing as the Warriors were determined to keep their place on the NBA throne.
Green went back to the game on November 12 but was ejected because of an argument with Kevin Durant, about the latter leaving the team. Later, after playing just one game, he was ruled out again for eleven games due to the same medical reason.
The Warriors managed to go to the playoffs, where Green made his fifth playoff triple-double and went on a seven-game streak of having at least 10 rebounds, breaking his own career-high. The Warriors lost the NBA championship to the Toronto Raptors. Green signed a 100 million dollar contract extension.
Draymond Green – COVID-19 Related Issues
This money will surely be helpful as Green was fined 50,000 dollars for tampering with Devin Booker in a pregame show broadcast by TNT. During the summer of 2020, Green caught COVID-19 and couldn’t participate in most of the training camp. When the season started, he injured his foot again and Green missed the first four games. A small drawback didn’t stop him to pass Michael Jordan for 17-place in the career triple-doubles leaders list on May 3, 2021.
Did Draymond Green play football at Michigan State?
Prior to achieving stardom in the NBA, Draymond Green earned a reputation for himself while playing for the Michigan State Spartans. During his four-year stint there, from 2008 to 2012, he became the all-time leader in rebounds (1096) and ranked second in all-time steals (180) in the school’s history.
What position did Draymond Green play at Michigan State?
He player as a power forward and center. Green was the first person in Michigan State’s history to be unanimously voted Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year. Over the course of 145 games with the Spartans, Draymond averaged 10.5 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 2.9 assists.
