Steve Kerr might ruffle a few feathers with this take – claiming Draymond Green is a better defender than his former Bulls championship teammates Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman.
“He’s the best defensive player I’ve ever seen. And that’s saying a lot, given that I played with Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman,” Kerr said, via the New Yorker‘s Charles Bethea.
But the longtime Warriors coach backed himself up with some evidence:
“The modern game demands so much more than it did in the nineties. You have to be able to guard all five positions, because there’s so much pace and energy and crossmatches. You race back on defense, you’ve got to guard the guy in front of you. And then there’s the ‘pick-on’ game: the opposing team is going to bring the weakest defender into every pick-and-roll to gain an advantage.
“Draymond, he can guard any action, any position, any player. And he can also blow up the play behind the play if he’s not involved in the action because of his brain, his speed, his reach. I think he’s no more than six-five and a half… seven-one wingspan, incredible strength. He wins every jump ball because he’s quicker to anticipate what’s happening, which means he’s getting to the rotation faster. He’s seeing what’s happening faster. He’s just a step ahead of the other nine guys.”
Kerr is yet to confirm if he’s returning for the 2025-26 season. He has spent the first 12 years of his career as the Warriors’ head coach alongside Green.
This isn’t the first time Kerr has given Dray his flowers. About a year ago, Kerr said he thought Green, Pippen and Rodman.
The pair might be done working together if Kerr doesn’t return to the Warriors.