Draymond responds to Marion’s claim he was a better defender.

[FultzNationRISE]

Eh... Marion's actually bigger than Dray. And way more athletic. He's lucky he plays in the small ball era. Marion played when there were still a bunch of real post centers around.

He's taller, but he's not bigger. Dray carries a high amount of body fat for an NBA player.

https://www.nba.com/stats/draft/comb...WINGSPAN&dir=1

Which gives a big leverage advantage when guys are packed together in the paint.


Marion has a very slim build. That's why he's more explosive and better moving around the perimeter.






Dray's a lot beefier. While still having an 8'9 standing reach, comparable to guys who are normally 3-4 inches taller than him. (Marion also had a long reach)






That's what makes him harder to move around down low. Then the fact he's still mobile enough to play outside the paint effectively is what makes him such a good defensive player.

[Im Still Ballin]

Marion isn't slim, he's long-limbed. There's a difference. He has a broad frame, well-muscled limbs, and a short, thick, and wide neck. The man's built like a machine.



And i found this great shot showing his freakish length:

[FultzNationRISE]

Marion isn't slim, he's long-limbed. There's a difference. He has a broad frame, well-muscled limbs, and a short, thick, and wide neck. The man's built like a machine.



And i found this great shot showing his freakish length:

Compared to Dray his arms are toothpicks. And his torso is clearly narrower.

Im not saying Marion is “Too Small” *holds hand down to the ground* for what his game is, but compared to Green he’s clearly less massive overall. He’s a lighter load to deal with in the paint.

[FKAri]

Dray's a slightly more impactful defender. He's versatile not just in terms of who he can guard but also in terms of how disruptive he is in passing lanes and breaking up plays. Marion was a better on ball defender and a better rim protector as the help defender.

[fsvr54]

Draymond is so overrated. Dude wouldn't even win pickup games at the park against other regular ass grown men. Kevin Hart outshoots this mofo.

[Im Still Ballin]

He had such a short neck for his frame. It's like his head sat directly on his shoulders. Dude had the body of somebody approaching 6'11 but the finesse and quickness of a guard.

Bosh 4" taller but his shoulders only like 1" higher:

[Kblaze8855]

Draymond is so overrated. Dude wouldn't even win pickup games at the park against other regular ass grown men. Kevin Hart outshoots this mofo.

Draymond is Luka Jabbar if he wants to be it at the park. Hes playing organized nba ball with a bunch of other nba guys. Hes not out there to show that. Hes a low end nba scorer. He’s giving 96 to the rec league like all the rest of them.

[999Guy]

Bunch of stupid takes. The only player on par with Draymond Green as far as rim protection statistics for a 6 year stretch from 14-19 was Rudy Gobert.

On top of being smarter, much more of a leader and having a higher motor than Marion. And a pick and roll defensive monster.


Disappointed Draymond dumbed down even his own explanation of his defense - make no mistake Draymond was a rim protecting big like Hakeem or D-Rob as his primary form of impact.

This isn’t some Boris Diaw floor bound sneaky versatile defensive style.

Unbelievable that this is not known on an NBA basketball forum after all these years, all the media coverage on the Warriors teams, and the stats and all the footage.

Completely different caliber of defenders. Especially in the post season.

[Carbine]

I thought it was definitely off when someone above said Marion was a better rim protector but I didn't care to debate it.

Draymond when I was watching the Warriors play a significant amount of time from 2014-2018 was definitely an elite rim protector he just did it in a more obscure way than the traditional guys did it.

[Norcaliblunt]

I feel like the biggest problem was dantoni. His style made for great offense but poor defense. Still was probably good enough to win stern screwed them in 2007. Amare had the tool box to be a very good defender if he was coached into it by like... Larry Brown or something... but he had the opposite of that. His offense was tremendously explosive though. He hung almost 40ppg series on Tim Duncan.

Yeah D’Antoni is a stubborn coach who runs a short rotation that eventually wears guys down. He also wants to win his own way while making no adjustments like he’s trying to prove something.

Rumor was Kerr as GM wanted to bring in Thibbs to be an assistant to work on defense. Dantoni vetoed that and eventually left.

As for Amare, he was a great player but the Suns should have kept Marion and traded Stoudemire for Garnett. That team could’ve been a top defensive team.

Imagine that Suns team with Mike D coaching offense, Thibbs running the defense, Garnett and Nash anchoring and holding down both sides of the floor?

[j3lademaster]

Bunch of stupid takes. The only player on par with Draymond Green as far as rim protection statistics for a 6 year stretch from 14-19 was Rudy Gobert.

On top of being smarter, much more of a leader and having a higher motor than Marion. And a pick and roll defensive monster.


Disappointed Draymond dumbed down even his own explanation of his defense - make no mistake Draymond was a rim protecting big like Hakeem or D-Rob as his primary form of impact.

This isn’t some Boris Diaw floor bound sneaky versatile defensive style.

Unbelievable that this is not known on an NBA basketball forum after all these years, all the media coverage on the Warriors teams, and the stats and all the footage.

Completely different caliber of defenders. Especially in the post season.

Those comparisons are going too far. Guys like Hakeem, Drob, Dwight can carry mediocre defensive squads to be top 5 defenses, the season Steph was out and Draymond was called on more than ever he lead a bottom 5 defense. I can’t see any of the previously mentioned guys doing that in their primes.

[Im Still Ballin]

Was Draymond even the best rim protector from 2013-2016? Bogut was really good and often forgotten. It's crazy to think that they had both of them out there together. Crazy defensive frontcourt duo.

[Reggie43]

Draymond having a higher motor than Marion? They call the guy the "Matrix" for a reason...

[GimmeThat]

Draymond fouls a lot more

[nayte]

From 90-93 MJ was the better defender of the two. From '95-'98 it was obvious Pippen had more defensive impact.

Draymond played on some teams with good defenders, but 2022 is a good example of his defensive impact. Curry, Poole, & Klay were not defensive players that year, only player besides Draymond who's defense stood out that year was Wiggins, but the Warriors still had the #1 defense.

That season without Draymond they had a Defensive Rating of 112, which is pretty average.

With Draymond their Defensive Rating was 104.2, which is elite.

Marion didn't have that defensive impact.

I'm a bit late but very fair take and I can agree with it