Draymond Green snubs Jalen Brunson on his top 5 2nd round picks, opts Lakers' 2007 #48 pick over Knicks star

Basketball fans expected Draymond Green to say something about the recently concluded 2024 NBA Draft. The Golden State Warriors forward usually comes up with content for his podcast almost every time something big comes up. He delivered on Saturday, a few days after the event ended.

Green, who was picked No. 35 by the Dubs in 2012 was asked by a fan to name his top 5 second-round picks. The four-time NBA champ hesitated a little to think about it before proceeding.

“My top 5. Joker [Jokic]. Dennis Rodman, Manu [Ginobili], Marc Gasol and yours truly. No question. Yes, that would be my top 5 second-round picks. I think Jalen Brunson if he continues to play the way that he’s playing, I think he has a chance to creep up there.”

Marc Gasol was the LA Lakers’ pick at No. 48 in 2007 before he was sent to the Memphis Grizzlies. Gasol was part of the package the Lakers used to bring his older brother Pau Gasol to Hollywood.

The younger Gasol won the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award in 2013. He also played a big role in the Toronto Raptors’ 2019 championship.

If there’s a player Jalen Brunson can replace in Draymond Green’s top 5 second-round picks, that might have to be the “Big Spain.”

Brunson, the No. 33 pick in 2018 by the Dallas Mavericks, made his first All-Star selection last season but has not won the championship. The New York Knicks, after retooling this offseason again, will be a serious title contender next season.

Unless Jalen Brunson gets that championship, Draymond Green isn’t likely to take him over Marc Gasol.

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Jalen Brunson’s career so far can’t overtake the other names on Draymond Green’s list

Championship is the common theme among the second-round picks Draymond Green named in his list. Nikola Jokic, picked No. 41 by the Denver Nuggets in 2014, is a no-brainer. He has won the NBA MVP in three of the past four seasons and led the Nuggets to their first franchise championship in 2023.

Two years ago, Draymond Green said that Nikola Jokic could score as well as anyone. What makes “Joker” so tough to guard is that he could also “pass the ball like Chris Paul and see the floor like LeBron James.”

Draymond Green describing Nikola Jokic: “Can score as well as anyone with the passing of Chris Paul, while seeing the floor like LeBron James”. byu/CanadianCurryMurray innba

Dennis Rodman is also a shoo-in to any top second-round lists. The seven-time rebounding champ was drafted No. 27 by the Detroit Pistons. The NBA was a 25-team league when “The Worm” came into the league, hence he was a second-rounder.

Rodman, a two-time Defensive Player of the Year winner, lifted the Larry O’Brien Trophy twice with the “Bad Boys.” He later joined Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen in the mid-'90s to help add three more titles to the Chicago Bulls.

A few years ago, Draymond Green claimed that he was the best defender in NBA history. Fans blasted him, saying that he couldn’t even sniff what Rodman accomplished in his career.

Manu Ginobili was taken No. 57 by the San Antonio Spurs in the 1999 draft. He won four titles with the only team he played for in the NBA and was a Sixth Man of the Year winner in 2008. The lefty would have likely compiled more impressive numbers had he not sacrificed to come off the bench for his team.

In 2021, Draymond Green named the two players he found hardest to guard in an interview with Bleacher Report. He mentioned Kevin Durant and then surprised everyone when he said “Manu Ginobili.”

Draymond reveals two hardest players he's ever guarded: “Kevin Durant is impossible to guard, but he is as close to impossible as it gets. And Manu Ginobili, he used to move downhill, but moving sideways. The moment you see him moving to the left -- euro step." byu/efranklin13 innba

Draymond Green naturally rounds out his top-five list. The four-time champ with the Warriors was the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2017. He is also a four-time All-Star and a perennial All-NBA Defensive team member.

Jalen Brunson, at this stage, doesn’t have a better career than any of the players Green mentioned. If the New York Knicks guard can win a championship, Green might be willing to take him over Marc Gasol.