Green on not making the first All-Defensive Team: 'For me, it's a slight' / News - Basketnews.com

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Just before the NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics, Draymond Green voiced his disagreement about not making All-Defensive First Team. Even though he made All-Defensive Second Team, Green was not content with it.

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Green was the front-runner to win the Defensive Player of the Year until just a few games into January, when he suffered a back injury, which led him to finish only 46 games in the regular season.

Green still thought there were no five better defenders than him in the league.

"For me, it's a slight," Green said after being asked how he feels about making the All-Defensive Second Team. "When I look at the first team, I am not sure I can pinpoint, definitely not five guys that had a better defensive season than me."

"And there are no requirements. There isn't some amount [of games] that you have to play in. If there was an amount that you had to play, then I would be an idiot sitting here and saying that," Green added.

The defensive Player of the Year trophy went to Green's upcoming NBA Finals opponent Marcus Smart from the Celtics, who was voted ahead of the other four All-Defensive First Team players: Mikal Bridges from The Phoenix Suns, Rudy Gobert from The Utah Jazz, Giannis Antetokounmpo from the Milwaukee Bucks, and Memphis Grizzlies'Jaren Jackson Jr.

Alongside Green on the second team, there is Bam Adebayo from the Miami Heat, Jrue Holiday from the Bucks, Matisse Thybulle from the Philadelphia 76ers, and Boston's Robert Williams III.

While disappointed about not making the first team, Green was confused that he made the second team.

"It goes on the resume as an All-Defensive team, so I will take it. But I was a little shocked when I heard the first team, and I was like, 'Hmm, that's interesting. Maybe I didn't make it at all.'

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But then the fact that I made the second team, there are more than five defenders... you had to totally take me off, and then I'll be like, alright, they voted on the amount of games. But it makes absolutely no sense to say, well, he was a second-team All-Defensive player because then you can't be taking the number of games into consideration.

And if you are taking the amount of games into consideration and say, 'Oh, this guy is second-team,' then you are just making stuff up," Green argued.

Green still values the second team award and thinks it is important, adding: "I think it was more of a slight. But seven out of 10 years on the All-Defensive team, it ain't so bad."

The upcoming NBA Finals will have plenty of good defenders, including both sides having two of the best defenders in the game in Smart and Green. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr praised Smart and compared him to Green when asked about Smart's defense.

"The guard version of Draymond," Kerr said.

The 2022 NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics start on an upcoming night in San Francisco.

Draymond Green's defensive highlights

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