Alright, let me tell you how I got sucked deep into figuring out why Draymond Green’s Game 7 in 2016 was such a big freaking deal. It all started kinda random.
I was scrolling through some old NBA debates online, the usual stuff. Saw this meme about the Warriors blowing a 3-1 lead, you know the one. But folks kept mentioning Draymond specifically for that final game. Got me thinking: Why all the fuss? I remembered they lost, so why talk about one guy so much?
First thing I did was pull up the basic box score. Just quick numbers, right?
- Dude had a monster triple-double: 32 points, 15 rebounds, 9 assists. Like, whoa.
- And then I saw the defensive stats: 2 steals and 2 blocks. That ain’t normal for a Game 7, especially under that much pressure.
Okay, numbers looked nuts, but I needed the feel of the game. So I went hunting for full game highlights. Not the short clips, but chunks of the actual game flow. Sat there rewinding certain parts over and over.
What jumped out at me watching it was how often Draymond was the ONLY Warrior playing with force. Like, seriously. Steph and Klay were just… off. Bricks everywhere. But Draymond? He was hitting these bizarre stepback threes nobody thought he could make. Driving straight at Tristan Thompson like a bulldozer. Grabbing rebounds like a madman. Every time the Cavs looked ready to pull away, BAM, Draymond did something huge to keep the Dubs close. A bucket, a pass for a bucket, a steal, a rebound – something. He practically carried the damn Warriors on his back that whole game.
Then I got stuck on the 4th quarter. LeBron had that legendary block, sure. Kyrie hit the dagger three, iconic. But before that? Right in the middle of the quarter, the score was tied after being back and forth all night. And who nailed a clutch three to tie it again? Freakin’ Draymond Green. Remembered that part vividly from rewatching – the place went wild.
This got me arguing online with myself basically. If Draymond plays a normal Draymond game – like 10 points, 8 assists, great defense – do the Warriors even have a shot late? No freaking way. They needed EVERY point, every rebound he scrapped for. Without that insane performance? That game woulda been a blowout win for Cleveland way earlier. Simple as that. He gave Steph and Klay a million chances to find their shot. He basically dragged them to the final couple of minutes with a chance.
Thought about the bigger picture too. That 2016 loss was unfinished business. It fueled the KD run. But without Draymond absolutely balling out that specific night, pushing the Cavs harder than anyone thought possible with Steph and Klay struggling like that? The whole “3-1 lead blown” narrative hits different. It wouldn’t sting quite as much because the Warriors wouldn’t have gotten that close. They got that close because of Green going nuclear.
So next time someone says Draymond choked or whatever in that series, I just point to Game 7. Dude showed up bigger than anyone that night on his team. His performance wasn’t just important, it was the only reason the final minutes mattered at all. Crystal clear now.
