Draymond Green Gives Honest Take on Wemby, Where He Ranks Compared to Spurs Star
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green compared his defensive acumen to San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama in a new interview on Tuesday.
"I'm a positional defender, so I'm not giving you your spots that you want to get to," Green said during an appearance on NBA Today (7:36). "I like to deter shots. I'm not Victor Wembanyama's height, right? So, I'm not going to block every shot. I want to get myself into a spot to where you can't even get to the shot. But I think that type of anticipation is sometimes tough to quantify. Well, when you look at a Victor Wembanyama, he is one that does that same thing but in a different way. Because all of a sudden a guy gets to the hole, whereas you usually just take that shot, you see a lot of times guys see him in the area they just dribble the ball out."
"To sit and say today that my defense is more impactful than Victor Wembanyama's I think that would be a lie and I've never been one to not be honest," he added. "So, I wouldn't put myself above him but I wouldn't put myself below anyone else."
It isn't hard to imagine Wembanyama taking home Defensive Player of the Year honors for the 2025-26 season in unanimous fashion, as he averaged a league-leading 3.1 blocks to go along with 1.0 steals per game during the regular season.
The Spurs own a 103.6 defensive rating with Wembanyama on the floor this season compared to a 113.7 rating with him on the bench (via NBA.com).
For context, the Oklahoma City Thunder finished with the No. 1 defensive rating in the league during the 2025-26 campaign at 106.5.
As for Green, he won Defensive Player of the Year for his efforts during the 2016-17 season and ended up at No. 3 in voting for the award last year.
While he ended the regular season with averages of 0.9 steals and 0.6 blocks per game, his ability to guard multiple positions and operate as the defensive anchor for a Golden State squad that battled injuries throughout the year was still impressive.
