The Whiteboard: Yes, Draymond Green is a future Hall-of-Famer

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Draymond Green’s individual struggles have become one of the most persistent talking points in these NBA Finals. Through four games, he still has more fouls (18) than points (17). He’s 23.1 percent from the field and his missed all nine of his 3-point attempts in the series. And, he was pulled by Steve Kerr during a key fourth-quarter stretch of Game 4.

Still, for all his struggles, he’s been essential. The Warriors have only been outscored by 2.4 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor and most of Golden State’s key scorers have been more efficient with him on the floor.

But all this is largely immaterial to the “Is Draymond Green a future Hall-of-Famer?” question. Even if he continues to struggle in this series and even if the Warriors ultimately lose to the Celtics, the answer should be a resounding yes.

Draymond Green’s Hall-of-Fame resume

Green might not get in on the strength of his box score stats alone — 11.8 points, 9.0 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.4 blocks per game. But he’s received plenty of other accolades which reflect at his overall impact. He already has three rings and could be about to add another, along with two Olympic gold medals. He’s a four-time All-Star, a seven-time All-Defensive team selection, a two-time All-NBA selection and was the 2016-17 Defensive Player of the Year. He also ranks in the top-25 all-time in postseason assists, steals, blocks.

And, of course, if you want a statistical measure of his versatility, Green ranks 15th all-time in regular-season triple-doubles and fifth in postseason triple-doubles.

Per Basketball-Reference’s Hall of Fame probability model, Draymond Green currently has a 59.7 percent chance of making the Hall of Fame. The only currently eligible players with a higher probability who have not yet made the Hall of Fame are Chauncey Billups, Shawn Marion, Amare Stoudemire and Larry Foust (who played in the late 1950s and early 1960s).

There are also dozens of players who have already been inducted to the Hall of Fame who have weaker resumes than Green, according to Basketball-Reference’s model, including Chris Mullin, Reggie Miller, Wes Unseld, Ben Wallace, K.C. Jones, Manu Ginobili, Chris Webber and Bernard King.

The other important thing to remember is that there are no hard benchmarks for Hall-of-Fame selection. The committees take into account individual and career achievements but also cultural importance. He’s been a key figure of one of the most era-defining teams of the past decade. Rolling in narrative only strengthens his case.

Klay Thompson is a future Hall-of-Famer too

While we’re on the subject, Klay is getting in too. He’s just a hair behind Draymond with a Hall-of-Fame probability of 51.3 percent. His case is bolstered by all the same narrative factors as Draymond but he has a strong individual resume as well.

He’s a five-time All-Star with three championships and an Olympic gold medal, two All-NBA team selections and an All-Defensive team selection. He’s averaged 19.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game and ranks top 20 all-time in career 3-point percentage and 3-pointers made, leaderboards he’s likely to climb significantly over the next few seasons.

You can pick nits with several spots in his legacy but he’s a Hall-of-Famer too.

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