2022 NBA Finals: In Boston, Warriors’ Draymond Green gets his fourth ring and the last laugh

Draymond Green, four-time NBA champion, Golden State Warriors living legend, TNT analyst, increasingly popular podcaster, and future Hall of Famer, had the last laugh at TD Garden. In the same building where he was greeted with boos and F-Yous, where six days earlier he watched much of the fourth quarter down the stretch from the bench, Green put his fingerprints all over Game 6 — 12 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists, two blocks, two steals, only one foul — and the villain emerged victorious. 

Green took the blame when he missed 10 of his 12 shots and Boston Celtics stole home-court advantage in the Finals opener. He took the heat when he fouled out in Game 3 and the crowd “caught me off guard,” as he put it. And when the Warriors needed to win a close-out game in a hostile environment to clinch their fourth championship in eight years, Green was indispensable. He logged 42 minutes, the most he has played in a non-overtime game since June 13, 2019, the last time they were playing in a Game 6 in the Finals. 

“If you know basketball, and you watch Game 1, I did not have a bad Game 1,” Green said. “And I had an incredible Game 2. And Game 3 was kind of like, terrible, awful. And Game 4 was not my best effort but not totally special. And Game 5, Game 5, I was pretty solid. Came out with great energy.

“Game 6, I dominated.”

Stephen Curry finally, rightfully hoisted the Finals MVP trophy after the 103-90 win, but would you look at that final score? This, like the rest of Golden State’s wins in this series, was a grimy one, a credit to the defense that ranked second only to Boston’s, a reflection of Green more than anybody else. The Celtics scored an abysmal 96.8 points per 100 possessions in Game 6, and according to Cleaning The Glass, only 81.8 per 100 in the halfcourt.  

“Our defense was spectacular in this series, especially the last three games,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “And the Celtics had the best defense in the league, but we were right behind them. I think what made this group really special, besides the obvious with Steph, was the defensive intensity and versatility. And for that, Draymond is the guy to point to, the leader of it all.”