Draymond Green and Shawn Marion are two defensive powerhouses. Draymond boasts a Defensive Player of the Year award and eight All-Defensive Team selections, while Marion averaged 1.1 blocks and 1.5 steals for his career, even leading the league in total steals twice.
These two players pride themselves on defense. No surprise then, whenever talk turns to who’s the better defender, things get heated. That’s exactly what happened when Marion jumped on the “Club 520” podcast to claim he was a better defender than Draymond is today.
“Draymond, I think I love his tenacity, energy, and heart, but I still think I was a way better defender than he was. The reason I say that is because when I had to guard point guards or when I actually guard you, I’ll guard you for the whole game,” Marion said on the Club 520 podcast.
However, Draymond didn’t let Marion’s assertion slide. On his podcast, he countered by listing the players he had to defend during the Golden State Warriors’ 2022 championship run, making a case for his own defensive skills.
“On the way to my fourth championship, you got me guarding Joker… I think Joker respected the defense that was played on him,” said Green. “Jaren Jackson, young, athletic, big who can step out and shoot the 3, All-Star. Jalen Brunson, All-Star. Jaylen Brown in the NBA Finals, All-Star. Those were my matchups for the series.”
“I was a way better defender than he was.”
– Shawn Marion on Draymond Green
( @TheVolumeSports )
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) April 4, 2024
