Zach LaVine: Kevin Durant Was USA's Best but Wouldn't Have Won Without Draymond Green

Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine credited Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green with playing a big role in the United States men's national basketball team winning Olympic gold over the summer.

Speaking to Marcus Thompson II and Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic, LaVine said the following about Green's impact on the Olympic team in Tokyo:

"He was the best teammate you could have for a guy in our situation. He was the leader of the team. Obviously, we know KD [Kevin Durant] was the best player. But without Dray, we wouldn't have won. He's the one who had everything [together] in every practice, watching film with the guys, making adjustments, giving guys confidence to come and play their game and just keeping everybody engaged. 

"You can really see why the Warriors are so good. He's the glue guy. He's the one who makes everything run. At least that's my opinion. He looks out for everybody else before himself."

Team USA did drop a game to France in the group stage, but it bounced back, went undefeated the rest of the way and won gold for the fourth consecutive Summer Games.

Team USA brought the most talented squad to Tokyo from top to bottom, but it was missing several of the NBA's biggest stars either because they opted not to play or couldn't.

Among the players who did not represent the United States at the Olympics were LeBron James and Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers, Warriors guard Stephen Curry, James Harden and Kyrie Irving of the Brooklyn Nets, Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard and Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal.

The Americans did struggle a bit in the early going, including the loss to France, but the players were eventually able to come together and improve as the tournament went on.

LaVine and Green told Thompson and Mayberry about the bonding that team members did while stuck in their hotel in Tokyo, including late-night sessions of wine drinking.

That is how LaVine and Green became close friends despite not having much of a relationship before the Olympics.

As LaVine mentioned, Durant was the biggest driving force behind Team USA's success, as he led the team with 20.7 points per game and surpassed Carmelo Anthony as the team's all-time leading scorer at the Olympics.

KD took over games when needed, just as he has so often done throughout his NBA career with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Warriors and Nets.

Durant rightfully gets a lot of credit for helping lead the Warriors to NBA championships in 2017 and 2018 as well, but Green played a significant role that shouldn't be ignored.

Golden State also won a title in 2015 before KD arrived with the original core of Curry, Klay Thompson and Green.

Green has been a winner throughout his career both at the NBA and international levels, and it speaks to his ability as a leader that he was so quickly able to gain the trust and respect of an elite talent like LaVine.