It's no secret that Draymond Green and Kevin Durant aren't exactly best of friends. They had their fair share of head-to-head clashes during their time together as Golden State Warriors teammates, with their infamous on-court bust-up a clear indication of the type of relationship they had.

In a recent AMA interview on Bleacher Report, however, Green showered the Brooklyn Nets superstar with ultimate praise by saying that Durant remains to be his toughest defensive matchup to date:

“Kevin Durant,” Green responded when asked who the hardest player he's ever had to guard is. “Nobody is impossible to guard, but he is as close to impossible as it gets.”

Green may not have seen eye-to-eye with KD, but it is clear that he holds his former teammate in very high regard. As opponents, Green has faced off against Durant on the basketball court many times, and as he revealed in his statement above, defending KD is anything but an easy task — even for a former Defensive Player of the Year winner like Green.

The Warriors All-Star also noted that along with Durant, San Antonio Spurs legend Manu Ginobili also ranks highly in his book:

“And Manu Ginobili,” Green continued. “He used to move downhill, but moving sideways. The moment you see him moving to the left — eurostep.”

It's been quite some time since we saw Ginobili in action in the NBA. Manu is without a doubt one of the most potent offensive threats in the history of the sport, and Green's statement here serves as a testament to this fact.

The good news is that there will still be a lot of Green vs. Durant encounters in the coming years. There are always fireworks when these two face off, and this recent statement from the Warriors star only further fuels the narrative.