Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr offered high praise for Draymond Green following the team’s Game 4 playoff victory, calling him “the best defender I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Kerr’s comments came in response to Green’s critical fourth-quarter stop on Alperen Sengun and his ability to stay on the floor despite playing most of the final period with five fouls.
“I feel like 100 [out of 100],” Kerr said when asked about his confidence in Green’s ability to defend in crunch-time situations. “He rises to the occasion… it’s like having Steph Curry take the shot.”
“Draymond always walks the line,” Kerr said postgame. “He’s an emotional force, a physical force. And he just can’t cross the line, and he knows that.”
The defensive play in question occurred with under a minute left, as Green forced Sengun into a difficult shot near the elbow, giving Jimmy Butler the chance to secure a crucial rebound.
Butler, who played 40 minutes despite not being fully healthy, iced the win at the free throw line and finished with 28 points, 12 of them coming from the charity stripe.
Kerr credited Butler’s presence for stabilizing the offense and helping second-year guard Brandin Podziemski deliver one of his best postseason performances.
“Brandin’s big-time,” Kerr said. “Second-year player but plays like a 10th-year guy. He was obviously a key to everything.”
Podziemski scored 26 points and was efficient throughout, consistently punishing Houston’s defense when Butler drew attention.
Kerr emphasized how Butler’s arrival midseason helped clarify roles for younger players like Podziemski and Moses Moody, allowing them to thrive off secondary actions.
“They were able to play off of Jimmy,” Kerr noted. “Once we got Jimmy, we were running a lot of offense through him, and that allowed BP to play off that other side.”
The Warriors now hold a 3–1 lead in the series after weathering a strong push from Houston, which leaned heavily on Steven Adams in the paint.
Kerr acknowledged the challenge of countering the Rockets’ size but pointed to the collective contributions of Quinten Post and Kevon Looney as essential in managing Green’s foul trouble.
Despite the edge in the series, Kerr was quick to dismiss any notion that Golden State had found a definitive answer to Houston’s adjustments.
“Every game’s different,” he said. “They made big adjustments tonight… next game could be entirely different as well.”
As the series shifts back to San Francisco, the Warriors will look to close it out at home with Green anchoring the defense and Butler continuing to play through injury.
Kerr’s declaration about Green’s defensive legacy underscores the veteran forward’s impact as the Warriors aim to advance.
