Don't let stats fool you: Draymond Green showed he's still an elite defender in Victor Wembanyama matchup

It's hard to grasp that the Golden State Warriors did a good job defending Victor Wembanyama in a game where he had a 31-point triple-double. But when Draymond Green was guarding him, he shut the San Antonio Spurs center down.

Green ended up fouling out with 33.4 seconds to go in the Warriors' 125-120 win in San Antonio, but not before logging a game-high +15 in a game where the 6-foot-6 Green spent extensive time guarding the 7-foot-4 Wembanyama. Steph Curry got the headlines with his 46-point explosion, but Green kept the Warriors close on defense.

Draymond Green is uniquely skilled at guarding centers

While Wembanyama scored 31 points and logged 10 assists Wednesday night, he also committed eight turnovers. The Warriors as a team had 13 steals, some as a result of some creative zone defenses, but mostly due to Green making the All-Star big man uncomfortable.

When Green was his primary defender, Wembanyama shot 4-of-12 and committed five of his turnovers. He only got to the foul line for two free throws. Part of Green's approach was to crowd Wemby, not giving him the space to leap for his preferred shots.

Green is significantly shorter than his counterpart, but he has a seven-foot wingspan that allowed him to bother Wembanyama's shots. Wembanyama's shots are almost unblockable, but Green was able to consistently get a hand on or near the ball as Wembanyama brought it up, often forcing him to switch hands, alter his shot or switch to a pass.

Green also sacrificed his body, taking a forearm to the head to draw an offensive foul. Anytime the referees are reviewing a play for a flagrant foul on Green rather than by him, he's clearly bothering his opponent.

Draymond Green called out his team and backed it up

After a blowout loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder Tuesday night, Green called out his teammates for letting a "personal agenda" dominate instead of a commitment to the team. Jimmy Butler, backed him, saying that his teammates needed to "sacrifice" for the team to win.

Green did that himself Wednesday. Although he only scored six points, he had a huge impact. Butler did too, hitting five three-pointers and scoring 28 points while backing up his talk about teamwork by dishing out eight assists.

That's why, for all his controversies, Green remains incredibly valuable to the Warriors. But he won't get much time to enjoy his big night. The Warriors face Wembanyama again Friday night in San Antonio in an NBA Cup game.