Every championship-caliber NBA team needs a player who is willing to do the dirty work. Diving for loose balls, banging with bigger guys in the paint and delivering cleverly-dhidden illegal screens are necessities for teams looking to make the most of their talent as the preeminent glue guys of basketball.
Perhaps the single greatest glue guy in the history of the NBA is currently playing in the 2019 NBA Playoffs for the Golden State Warriors. That’s right, Draymond Green does all the little things (including blatantly violent nut punches and ball kicks if he thinks he can get away with it) in order to help his Warriors reach the mountaintop time and time again.
With the Portland Trail Blazers facing off against the Warriors in what could be a decisive Game 4, Green's extremely effective play in the playoffs might soon lead to a fourth championship for the mainstays of the Warriors dynasty: Green, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala.
Another important glue guy in NBA history is Kendrick Perkins, who won a championship with the “Ubuntu” Boston Celtics in 2008. Perkins was also on multiple contenders with the Oklahoma City Thunder in the early-to-mid 2010s as well as in his final season of 2017-18 with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Kendrick Perkins has such strong belief in Green's abilities as a glue guy (and masterful defender, to not sell him short), that he believes if Green was on the Blazers, it would be Portland that were up 3-0 in the Western Conference Finals and not Golden State:
I said this before I’ll say it again! Draymond Green is the heart and soul of GS! He’s everything that you want in a basketball player! If you were to switch Draymond and Aminu right now and start this series over, Portland would be up 3-0!
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) May 20, 2019
Certainly, Draymond Green is impactful, but is he more important than Curry, Klay, and the injured Kevin Durant? Seems a bit suspect, Perk.
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