“Not points, so it doesn’t matter?”: Draymond Green lauds Ausar Thompson's defensive play while critiquing NBA rookie ladder
Four-time NBA champion Draymond Green expressed his surprise at Detroit Pistons rookie forward Ausar Thompson not getting enough attention like his fellow league freshmen. Despite impressive performances on the defensive end, Thompson's exploits have been overshadowed by that of Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren.
Selected fifth overall by the Pistons in this year’s rookie draft out of Overtime Elite, Thompson has been a bright spot for struggling Detroit (2-13). He has played in all of their 15 games so far, averaging 11.3 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.7 blocks and 1.1 steals.
Thommpson's incredible performances have already started murmurs of a potential NBA All-Defensive team selection. However, despite the impressive all-around numbers of the 20-year-old, Green is baffled why people are still not talking about Thompson.
The four-time NBA All-Star took to X (formerly Twitter) to share his thoughts on it, saying:
“Ausar Thompson averaging 10 rebounds and almost 2 blocks per game is not being talked about enough. That’s wild! Let me guess though… it’s not points, so it doesn’t matter?”
One could say that Draymond Green’s affinity for Thompson is not at all surprising as he himself is cut from the same cloth. The Michigan State product has prided himself in being a solid defensive player, doing the intangibles and everything asked of him.
It has translated to much success for fiery forward. Apart from winning four championships with the Warriors and being an NBA All-Star, he was also named NBA defensive player of the year in 2017.
This season he remains his scrappy self, compiling averages of 8.8 points, 5.7 assists and 5.1 rebounds in the nine games he has played so far for the Warriors (7-8). Unfortunately, he is currently serving a five-game league-imposed suspension for his involvement in an on-court fracas with Minnesota Timberwolves' Rudy Gobert.
Draymond Green likens Jayson Tatum to former teammate Kevin Durant
Now in his 12th year in the NBA, Draymond Green is in a good position to assess the qualities of fellow players and share his honest take on them.
He occasionally does that on his podcast. One of the most recent ones was that of Jayson Tatum. Green likened him to his former teammate and 13-time All-Star Kevin Durant.
The Golden State Warriors forward highlighted how like KD, Tatum is downright solid on the offensive end. He expects this to continue to be such for many years to come.
Draymond Green said:
“JT is a legit 6-foot-10. The only player that you can even come remotely close to comparing him to in this league is Kevin Durant. And we all know how I feel about Kevin Durant and what I think about him on the offensive end. One of the greatest scorers we’ve ever seen.
“Jayson Tatum is like a young version of that. Obviously, he doesn’t have all the experience that Kevin has. Kevin’s what, in his 15th or 16th year, JT’s in his fifth. And so, you’ll continue to see that grow, but nonetheless, who he is right now is absolutely amazing.”
Check out what Green had to say below, beginning at 5:39:
Tatum is currently going great guns for the Boston Celtics (11-3), averaging 28.2 points, to go along with nine rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.1 steals in 14 games.