After the Golden State Warriors clinched a play-in spot with a 109-106 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night, Draymond Green delivered a candid reaction to Victor Wembanyama publicly advocating for his MVP case earlier this week.
Green said he admired the San Antonio Spurs star’s willingness to speak up, even if the moment exposed how defense is often overlooked in award discussions.
“I hated it and I absolutely loved it,” Green said. “And the reason is because the reason I hated it is because until Wemby say defense is 50% of the game, it was like oh man no one realized that right?”
The veteran forward said the sudden reaction to Wembanyama’s statement highlighted a deeper issue in how basketball is discussed and evaluated.
“So he comes out and make this profound ass statement and it’s like oh of course it is,” Green said. “And everybody’s like oh man he has a great point. Hello, you think?”
Green pointed to Wembanyama’s defensive impact as an example of a skill that often receives less attention than scoring.
“But the fact that he has to come out and remind people, hey, y’all see what I do over there is like an indictment on the game of basketball,” Green said. “Everybody want to crush Luka Doncic when Luka doesn’t live up to the standard of defense. But we got this guy defending entire teams.”
The four-time champion said Wembanyama deserved credit for speaking up in a system where awards often depend on public narratives.
“The reality is if you don’t talk, people can’t see,” Green said. “You’re talking a game of basketball is not act like everybody can just open their eyes and know what’s going on. We know that’s not the case.”
Green cited past examples to support his point.
“I know everybody’s like, oh man, you said this or such and such said this about themselves until Evan Mobley finally said something last year,” he said. “Nobody was going to give him defensive player of the year. Then he finally said something. He was like, ‘Oh, all right. Maybe we’ll take a look.’”
Despite his criticism of the broader conversation, Green ultimately supported Wembanyama’s approach.
“And so the reality is if you don’t come out and speak for yourself, it don’t work,” Green said. “And I tip my cap to Wemby.”
Green also explained why the moment frustrated him.
“What you want to see is someone score the basketball,” he said. “Because here’s a guy that had to say, ‘Hey, man, it’s 50% of the game’ to get his point across.”
The Warriors forward added that his initial reaction was emotional.
“I was hot when I saw that,” Green said. “Like, oh, maybe they’ll figure it out now.”
Wembanyama, 22, is averaging 24.2 points, 11.2 rebounds and 3.1 blocks this season while anchoring the Spurs’ defense. The Spurs entered Wednesday with a 55-18 record, second in the Western Conference.
Green spoke after Golden State secured a play-in berth behind Gui Santos’ career-high 31 points and clutch free throws by the veteran forward with 6.9 seconds remaining.
