Draymond Green, a proven NBA champion, has chosen a favorite to win the 2024 NBA Finals.
Speaking on the “Point Game Podcast,” the Warriors forward and four-time champ shared how the Dallas Mavericks possess all of the qualities of a championship-winning team.
And if someone is qualified to determine that, it’s definitely Green.
“Honestly, the team that I love right now is Dallas,” Green told Point Game’s John Wall and C.J. Toledano before the start of the Western Conference finals. “And the reason I love Dallas is they have every piece that you need in order to win the championship.
“They got wing defenders, they got big men and a couple of big men that they can rotate the way. Dwight Powell doesn’t even play. Dwight Powell is a very serviceable big man in the NBA. [He] does not see the court. You know, so when you look at the the depth that they have, you know, you got Josh Green coming off the bench that can mix it up.”
In efforts to build his case, Green also alluded to Tim Hardaway Jr.’s, despite a down year, threat off the bench, specifically on the guard’s shooting abilities that can quickly change the fate of any game.
Golden State’s forward also believes part of the Mavericks’ secret to success rests on the shoulders of its stars Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving, who combined for 66 of Dallas’ 108 points during its Game 1 victory in the conference finals Wednesday night.
Nothing will determine Dallas’ outcomes like Dončić’s mindset, however, according to Green.
“You know, when you look at Luka, when you look at Kyrie and what they bring to the game, like those are two of the most unguardable guys in our league,” Green said. “You know, on any given night they both can go for 40. But I just think they got the pieces to do it. Now. I do think it’s going to fall on Luka’s mindset.
“Like what you when I see Luka at times this year, I say, ‘Damn, [is] Luka ready to win a championship?’ He’s defending, he’s competing. But are you going to do that when it when it [doesn’t] go well, you know, when it’s not going great, when a team is making a run, are you still going to compete that same way?
“You know, and I think that’s the next step for Luka. And I know he’s more than capable of that because he’s able to do that in spurts. So now how much longer can you put that together?”
A leader on the court for the Warriors for over a decade, Green wrapped up his case by shouting out Irving’s revitalization as a leader after notable downs in his career, which have put him in an unfavorable position.
“And then also, I think the leadership of Kyrie,” Green added. “Man, like nobody want to gives that man his credit because all the things that he’s been through. The leadership of Kyrie has been stellar.
“When you watched a growth of a young guy like Kyrie who thought he was a leader, failed miserably as a leader, then came out to say, ‘I failed, I know why.’
“You see him make the corrections. Like, you can only respect.”
With just three wins separating the Mavericks and their first Finals appearance in the Dončić era, Green’s prediction isn’t looking too shabby.