On Tuesday night, the Golden State Warriors faced a demanding challenge: without Stephen Curry, they hosted the Milwaukee Bucks at the Chase Center. Despite that difficulty, they pulled out a crucial win, thanks in part to a great defensive effort by Draymond Green. That earned him strong words from teammate Jimmy Butler and head coach Steve Kerr.

“You gotta respect the hell out of what he does,” Butler began, speaking about Green in an interview shared by Anthony Slater on his X account. “He’s one at this level. He’s a Hall of Famer for a reason.”

Draymond was one of the standouts in the win against the Bucks, devoting himself to the task of neutralizing Giannis Antetokounmpo, who made only five field goals in the 39 minutes he was on the court. “It’s so hard to do. To shoot the ball, I don’t know, four times maybe, if that. And then just lock in on defense every single possession down and get mad when anybody scores, not just the guy that he’s guarding. You don’t find that around in the league,” Jimmy stressed.

“Every single night he’s going to guard somebody… It’s not just Giannis,” Butler added. “He knows everybody that he’s going up against, whether they’re the star player, the third option or the first guy off the bench. Doesn’t matter. He’s locked in and he’s never wanting you to help.”

Finally, the former Miami Heat small forward appreciated Draymond Green’s contribution not only on the court but in other areas as well. “I just respect what he brings to this squad, what he brings to this locker room and how he affects winning in every single way,” Jimmy said.

Kerr also singled out Green

In addition to Jimmy Butler, the Warriors’ head coach also had complimentary words for Green. “Draymond, that defense tonight on Giannis was incredible,” Steve Kerr said at the postgame press conference. “To hold him to only five field goals, Draymond showed why he’s still one of the great defenders in the world and why he’s so important to winning night after night.”

Kerr also highlighted the Golden State Warriors’ collective performance, which allowed them to overcome the unexpected loss to the Denver Nuggets on Monday. “I thought it wasn’t just the defense; it was the leadership; it was the energy,” the coach said. “It was such a professional effort from our guys coming out of last night’s loss. To respond like they did, to put together a win against such a great team in a game we really needed.”

Draymond Green wants to win the DPOY

After the 104-93 win over the Milwaukee Bucks, Draymond Green made a strong statement about the race for Defensive Player of the Year and the competition with Victor Wembanyama.

“I don’t see players completely disrupting an entire offense the way I can. One million percent, I have a case for that award, and I’ll continue to build on it,” the four-time NBA champion said. “Especially with Wemby going down, it seemed like he had it won. Now it’s right there.”