Draymond Green: He, Steph Curry, Klay Thompson ‘changed the game forever’

Draymond Green briefly paused his bashing of Kevin Durant during a recent podcast appearance to boastfully proclaim that the trio of himself, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson revolutionized the game of basketball.

Appearing on Showtime’s “On the Smoke” podcast with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, Green laid out how the impact of the Dubs’ Big Three, as it were, will be felt long after they hang up their sneakers for good.

Actually, to put a finer point on it, Green initially stated that he alone made a huge impact on the NBA … with Curry’s help, of course, and then later Thompson’s. Once the three teamed up, though, Green believes what happened next was inevitable.

“I think I changed the game of basketball with the help of Steph Curry,” Green said, as transcribed in a profanity-scrubbed quote supplied by Drew Shiller. “I think Steph Curry changed the game of basketball with the help of me. I think it was a match made in heaven. And then Klay Thompson … us three changed the game forever.”

There is no disputing that the style of play employed by the Warriors from the onset of their dynastic run was a radical look for the NBA. With 2017 Defensive Player of the Year Green serving as the glue guy, the Warriors were able to unleash a freewheeling offensive onslaught with which few teams could keep pace.

Of course, it goes without saying that how Curry so deftly plays the game from beyond the arc makes him the most lethal three-point shooter of all time. Add Thompson into the mix and the ensuing evolution of the lethal backcourt known by the moniker “Splash Brothers”? Well, the rest is indeed history.

Starting with the 2014-15 season, the Dubs would make five consecutive appearances in the NBA Finals, winning three titles in the process. While Green is among the most outspoken — not to mention brashly confident — players in the NBA, his claim about the Warriors’ long-term impact upon the NBA is nevertheless a possible spot-on assessment.