National Basketball Association

Tom Izzo raves about Draymond Green's intensity, IQ

Published Jun. 13, 2022 5:54 p.m. ET

As the Golden State Warriors play host to the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday night, Draymond Green's college basketball coach lauded his former forward's intelligence and intensity on "The Herd with Colin Cowherd."

"He's very smart," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said of Green. "Yes, he's emotional, but he's smarter than people give him credit. Some of it is part of the shtick, it's part of what he does. I promise you, winning is at the front of his radar. Winning is the most important thing to him."

Green has had an up-and-mostly-down series against the Celtics, averaging just 4.5 points per game. He struggled in a Game 3 loss to Boston, tallying just two points, three assists and four rebounds.

Green somewhat bounced back in the Warriors' Game 4 victory, with nine rebounds, eight assists and four steals, despite scoring two points on 1-for-7 shooting.

His legendary intensity — he already has been ejected once this postseason — was evident even in college, Izzo said.

"There were some days, there were some timeouts, that were real interesting, as you can imagine," Izzo said. "All those huddles were legendary, you know. Players still talk about them. … You have to be around him to appreciate him."

Izzo said he told Green that he thought the Warriors star "let the officiating get to him (in the Warriors' series vs. the Mavericks)," and said that Green agreed.

Izzo also admitted that he didn't realize how good of an NBA player Green would be.

"He's been a lot better than I thought he would be. I thought he'd be a very good player, but I think his basketball IQ, and maybe the system he's in, (helped)."

Green also has benefited from the Warriors' consistency, keeping together the team's core with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and coach Steve Kerr, Izzo said.

"Somebody's got to have a protector of Curry and Klay, that's what he is — Draymond's the protector," Izzo said with a laugh.