Morning y’all. Got something a little different for ya today - a bit of a deeper dive into a certain topic. There hasn’t been as much going on the last couple days in the world of sports, so I thought it was a good time to try something new.

Here’s what we got for you today:

• Why I Think Re-Signing Draymond Green is Critical to the Warriors Competing for Another Championship 🏆️ 

I hope you enjoy this CHANGE-UP I’m throwing at you (ha, baseball pun).

Draymond Green - The Engine of the Golden State Warriors Dynasty?

You watch some athletes and they just make you laugh out loud because they are so ridiculously good. For me, those athletes are Connor McDavid, Patrick Mahomes, Shohei Ohtani, and Stephen Curry. No one has ever made shooting a ball through a hoop look as effortless as Curry has. He is truly must-see TV, and is one of few who have reached the pinnacle of their sport. A four-time NBA champion, two-time MVP, NBA Finals MVP, NBA All-Star Game MVP, and the all-time leader for most 3-pointers in NBA history, when people think of the leader of the Golden State Warriors dynasty, they immediately think of Wardell Stephen Curry II, and rightfully so. But you want to know what I think? I think Draymond Green is the glue of that basketball team, and maybe their ultimate leader. Let me tell you why.

I recently finished reading The Captain Class: A New Theory of Leadership by Sam Walker (which I highly recommend btw). The book first looked to determine the 17 most dominant dynasties in the history of team sports, then looked to find out what these legendary teams had in common. What Walker found was that each of these teams had a similar type of captain - a leader with an unconventional skillset and tendencies.

Here are the 17 greatest sports teams of all time:

• Collingwood Magpies (Australian Rules Football), 1927-30

• New York Yankees (MLB), 1949-53

• Hungary (Men’s Soccer), 1950-55

• Montreal Canadiens (NHL), 1955-60

• Boston Celtics (NBA), 1956-69

• Brazil (Men’s Soccer), 1958-62

• Pittsburgh Steelers (NFL), 1974-80

• Soviet Union (Men’s Ice Hockey), 1980-84

• New Zealand All Blacks (Rugby Union), 1986-90

• Cuba (Women’s Volleyball), 1991-2000

• Australia (Women’s Field Hockey), 1993-2000

• United States (Women’s Soccer), 1996-99

• San Antonio Spurs (NBA), 1997-2016

• New England Patriots (NFL), 2001-18

• Barcelona (Professional Soccer), 2008-13

• France (Men’s Handball), 2008-15

• New Zealand All Blacks (Rugby Union), 2011-15

However, this list is missing one team (as a result of the book being published in 2016): the 2015-22 Golden State Warriors. Four championships, six NBA Finals appearances, and a .682 winning percentage (which includes a 15-50 record in 2019-20, a season that was riddled with injuries [also shoutout StatMuse so I didn’t have to do the math to figure that out 🙏]) in a seven season span. Certainly a good enough resume to qualify them as one of the 18 “Tier One” teams of all time. So lets see how they compare to their elite counterparts.

Walker found that the leaders of these teams weren’t the conventional type of leader that we picture in our heads. Not the Michael Jordan’s or Kobe Bryant’s of the world, the leaders of the greatest teams of all-time are actually drastically different.

Here are Walker’s Seven Traits of Elite Captains:

1. Extreme doggedness and focus in competition.

2. Aggressive play that tests the limits of the rules.

3. A willingness to do the thankless jobs in the shadows.

4. A low-key, practical, and democratic communication style.

5. Motivates others with passionate nonverbal displays.

6. Strong convictions and courage to stand apart.

7. Ironclad emotional control.

Now, I understand Draymond Green isn’t very exemplary when it comes to Trait #4 and #7. However, many of the captains of these elite teams didn’t have all of the traits either, but they had most of them. When I read the first three traits specifically, I think of Draymond Green and what he does for that Warriors team. He does the dirty work for them. Draymond is constantly setting screens and guarding the other teams center when he’s often almost a foot shorter. He is also very aggressive, fully engaged, is in constant communication with his teammates, and plays the game on the edge of the rules. He provides Steph Curry with the freedom to be Steph Curry and, according to Walker, that is what all of the leaders of these elite teams do.

I want to make one thing clear, this piece was not meant to put Steph Curry down in any way. I am a huge fan of Steph; he is 100% a leader on Golden State and is one of the greatest basketball players of all time. The Warriors would not have had the same success without him. Rather, I wrote this to express why I think the Warriors recently re-signing Draymond Green to a 4-year, $100M contract was absolutely the right thing to do if they want to win another championship.

Draymond Green is not perfect. He is a flawed player and lacks certain traits required to be an all-time great leader. But without Draymond and his imperfections, I don’t think the Warriors would have become the closest thing we’ve ever seen to a perfect basketball team.

I hope my CHANGE-UP wasn’t a STRIKEOUT with you today (damn my baseball puns are unreal today ha). Seriously though, I had a ton of fun writing this and I hope you had fun reading it. If you want to see more pieces like this, please let me know and I’ll make it happen.

As always, I hope you enjoyed spending these last few minutes with me in The Nosebleeds🩸 

Cheers!