NBA99 is FanSided's ranking of the best players in the NBA right now. These rankings are a living project, updated regularly throughout the year, exploring how each player has carved out their NBA niche and how it is evolving over time. Check out the most recent updates here.
It’s difficult to separate reputation from reality, or to be prudent in the face of recency bias, but that’s the task when asked if Draymond Green or Dyson Daniels deserves to be higher in our NBA99 rankings.
No one could ever deny the tools that made Dyson Daniels a top-10 pick, but until this season, Daniels was mostly an idea. He played very little in New Orleans, buried behind other rangy wings and the go-go energy of Jose Alvarado. But at 22, his ceiling was still tempting enough to make him the central part of the Pelicans’ outgoing package for Dejounte Murray.
Fast forward 10 months, and Daniels has taken the NBA world by storm. He’s posting steal numbers not seen in 25 years, appearing on Defensive Player of the Year ballots, and generally just mucking up opposing offenses.
The talent is undeniable, just like his importance to a young Hawks team that might be at a crossroads this summer. However Atlanta moves forward, it’s clear Daniels is part of its plans.
Dyson Daniels is the league's hottest young defender, but don't forget about Draymond Green
While Daniels is on the upswing, Draymond Green is stubbornly shoving people off the top of the defensive Mount Rushmore. He can’t ratchet up the intensity on a nightly basis like he could a decade ago, but when Green’s dialed in, there’s nobody better.
Green is the duct tape holding Golden State’s seventh-rated defense together. Since the Jimmy Butler trade, he’s mostly played center and banged bodies with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic in the paint.
We might be at the point when Green’s bark garners more attention than his bite, but don’t let this outspoken podcaster fool you, he still has the heartbeat of a champion.
Green’s stats don’t jump off the page (he’s averaged fewer than 10 points a season more times than he’s reached double-digits), and his career numbers (8.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.6 assists) don’t scream future Hall of Famer, but his impact has never shown up in the box score.
So while Daniels deserves credit for off-the-charts steal rates and deflections, we’re giving Green the nod here. Not only because we understand and appreciate his impact, but also because we’ve learned by now not to count him or the Warriors out.
There have been many Daniels over the years to make a claim to the throne, but there’s only one Draymond. That's why we ranked at No. 56 and Dyson Daniels at No. 69.