LeBron James Pays Heartfelt Tribute to “Brother” Draymond Green After Remarkable Defensive Milestone

LeBron James praised Klutch Sports teammate Draymond Green after Green reached 900 points in his career, becoming the second player in Golden State Warriors history to reach the milestone.

The Warriors celebrated Green’s accomplishment, calling him a “mastermind of the defense” in a special social media post.

James shared the drawing on his Instagram Stories and added his own message to the four-time champion:

“Congratulations brother!!!”

James and Green have faced off in several playoff games, dating back to James’ time playing with Cleveland and continuing his tenure with the Lakers.

James Green defeated the Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals, while Green won his first three championships against James and the Cavaliers.

James totaled 1,150 career blocks, 250 more than Green’s 900. Green became known as the Warriors’ defensive enforcer, recording at least 90 blocks in four different seasons.

This season, Green is averaging 0.7 steals and 0.8 blocks per game, but he remains known for his contributions that don’t always show up on the stat sheet, including defensive rotations and team defense.

With Green moving forward, the Warriors currently rank sixth in defensive rating and fifth in steal rate.

Bill Simmons discusses the implications of Draymond Green’s blatant foul on LeBron James in the 2016 Finals

Bill Simmons recently discussed the implications of Green’s suspension in 2016, which occurred after a flagrant foul on LeBron James led to Green missing Game 5 of the NBA Finals.

The Cavaliers eventually won that pivotal Game 5, and Cleveland later became the first team in NBA history to come back from a 3-1 deficit to win the Finals.

On a recent episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast, the “Podfather” noted the huge impact that commentary has had on the NBA landscape.

“If he hadn’t won in Cleveland in ’16, ’17, ’18, would he have stayed?” Simons said. “Would he have just said, ‘I can’t leave until this happens,’ and then he’d never go to the Lakers.”

Simmons added that had Green not been suspended, the Warriors likely would have won the series in five games and cemented themselves as the best single-season team ever, having gone 73-9 and overcoming a 3-1 deficit to the Thunder before taking on Cleveland.

After that, James lost twice more to Golden State in the finals, then signed with the Lakers in 2018, winning the championship with them in 2020.