Here we go again with alliteration: it’s time for Thursday Thorns! Today, we revisit a subject who “inspired” the same reaction in us almost eight years ago: Draymond Green. The Golden State Warriors forward always has had a big mouth, but for a guy who peaked in 2016 at 0.190 WS/48, he certainly is lucky to still be riding the coattails of legendary teammate Stephen Curry and Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr. No joke.

We chime in today, because Green is making some noise about being a candidate for the NBA Defensive Player of the Year, an award we analyze every year in our ongoing series of basketball commentary. Currently, Green has earned 2.7 Defensive Win Shares this season, which is already better than the 2.2 DWS he accrued all of last season. However, his 2.7 DWS doesn’t even put him in the NBA Top 20 right now.

Someone should tell him this, that he has little chance of reaching 4.0 DWS, where the top candidates for the award will end up finishing when the regular season comes to an end. He is 30th in the league right now in defensive value, and since when does that equate to being an award winner? All Caitlin Clark jokes aside, Green shouldn’t even sniff the NBA’s All-Defensive Team this year. Or its second team … or even fifth.

This was Green’s observation of his own play, which reeks of egocentrism: “I look around the league and don’t see many players impacting the game on the defensive end the way I do. I don’t see many players completely throwing off an entire team’s offense the way I do.” Well, he clearly isn’t looking very closely—especially not beyond his own team. Sure, he leads the Golden State roster in Defensive Win Shares, but …

The Warriors themselves are not a great defensive team: they’re just seventh in points allowed this year, which puts them in the “good” category. Maybe that’s all the context Green’s ego can muster up, that he’s the best defensive player on a merely good defensive team. It’s the “big fish in a small pond” syndrome, for sure. One measurement he does shine on in is Defensive Box Plus/Minus, where he’s third in the NBA overall.

But that is more of a team valuation, since his individual value is merely Top 30. Collectively, the Warriors play good defense, and even Curry has compiled 2.2 DWS this year—while playing in more games for more minutes than Green has played, while being two years older … not to mention his offensive contributions. Defense impacts offense, and the same is true the other way around, so Curry’s DWS mark may be … more.

[Green is a near zero on offense, in truth, while Curry is … well, Curry. What does it say that Curry is almost as good as Green on defense, when Green is nowhere near Curry on offense? It just says that one guy hustles to make the “weak” side of his game as good as it can be, and that guy’s name is not Draymond. This is additional context, perhaps unnecessary, but we felt it was important to add in for perspective. Sorry!]

All in all, we’d be shocked and somewhat dumbfounded if the mediots gave Green any votes for DPOY. Winners of the award generally are within the Top 10 DWS standings, at least. Currently so far behind that, there is no rationale for giving Green this award, and he should be aware of these realities. We have no idea why he decided to pop off about this now, with 13 games left in the season … Draymond just being Green?