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There's no other player quite like Draymond Green.
Ben Simmons isn't nearly as impactful a help defender as the Golden State Warriors star, and has been hesitant to embrace a lesser offensive role. Zion Williamson is on a completely different planet as a scorer and all-around athlete, just like Green is as a defender. Grant Williams is similarly versatile in isolation defense, but doesn't come close to matching his all-around two-way impact.
Green, as the saying goes, is truly one of one. But just because there's no precise basketball analog for the mold-breaking four-time champion and future Hall-of-Famer hardly means Green can't see parts of himself in other players across the league. In fact, who does he think most shares the intangibles that have driven him to so much success? Memphis Grizzlies superstar Ja Morant, believe it or not.
Green explained on the latest episode of his eponymous podcast.
“I'm going to have to go with, in a much different way, Ja Morant. I ain't bowing to none of y'all. I don't care what you've accomplished before I got here. That has absolutely nothing to do with me. I believe in myself and my abilities. I'm gonna show you that. I'm gonna lead. I'ma talk to you, and let you know about it while I'm doing it. I'm gonna carry others with me, and mostly importantly, I'm gonna do it my way. All of those things I just named I see Ja Morant do. Now, does that mean Ja Morant and me are the same player? We're nowhere near the same player. But that's who reminds me a lot of me.”
Draymond Green Ja Morant
🤝@Money23Green explains why @JaMorant is the younger player that reminds him of himself the most.(via @TheVolumeSports)pic.twitter.com/H4cSSsaVgd
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) August 11, 2022
The brash confidence and frequent trash talk that's made Green a lightning rod for lavish praise and widespread criticism since the start of Golden State's dynasty has done the same for Morant as he and the Grizzlies continue climbing the league's pecking order of championship contention. Steph Curry is the Warriors' best player, but there's no doubting Green is their emotional heartbeat, just like Morant with the Grizzlies.
Culture looms extremely large in the NBA, and few players across the league embody their team's like Green and Morant. It's no wonder Golden State and Memphis make up the league's fiercest budding rivalry. With all that social media braggadocio and heated on-court gamesmanship, though, comes a clear amount of respect—just like there is between Green and Morant themselves.
