For Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors, he's right up there beside defensive legend Ben Wallace.
As reported by Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports, Green tagged Wallace as his bigger brother. He further added that they're both in the same category in terms of defense.
In fact, the two met way back when Green was still a young prep star in Saginaw, Michigan and later at Michigan State. During Green's high school days, Wallace was playing with the Detroit Pistons where he established himself as one of the top defenders in league history. In his stint there, Wallace won four Defensive Player of the Year Awards.
Green, for his part, was crowned best defender in 2017. Though for the past few years, he's finished in the top three in voting. He's highly-regarded as one of the top stalwarts in terms of defense by his teammates and foes. And even by Wallace himself:
“He’s definitely one of the top defenders our league has seen,” Wallace told Yahoo Sports by telephone.
Though their playstyles are different, one can easily point out that there are similarities between Green and Wallace. In terms of the position they play, both of them are undersized. Wallace is listed 6-foot-9 though some say he's really 6-foot-7. Despite this limitation, Wallace often plays center and matches up with much bigger guys than him. Green, for his part, stands 6-foot-7 but plays the point-forward position. And given the Warriors' style, he even moves up all the way to center.
When it's all said and done, critics will look back on Green's career. And how an undersized and not-so-heavily recruited player became of the league's top defenders. Just like Wallace.
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