Draymond Green on basketbloggers: ‘They don’t know s---, so they’re just f---ed’

Ask an obsequious question, get a ridiculous answer. Ask a specific, narrow question, get an interesting answer.

Draymond Green was asked in so many words if, despite just averaging two points per game this season, his contributions to the resurgent Warriors were underappreciated.

“Do you wish defense was seen in a sexier way?,” a reporter asked Saturday. “Being in good position, or staying vertical — that’s just as important potentially hitting a splashy three, but it’s the three that ends up on the highlight reel.”

Reducing Draymond’s value to the Warriors to “defense” or “staying vertical” isn’t really fair; his return to their offense has clearly enabled Steph Curry to briefly go supernova again. Green makes about $25 million per year and his suspension during the 2016 NBA Finals is part of league lore; everyone knows how valuable he is beyond counting stats.

But he’s had a chip on his shoulder about media coverage since at least last year’s NBA-worst 15-50 campaign.

“That would require people to know the game of basketball, and most people don’t,” he said. “Wishful thinking. Most people will never learn the game of basketball. They think they know, but yet don’t have a clue. So, it is what it is. I enjoy being one of the not-so-many people that actually know the game and being in that rare category of people who really know what’s going on in the game of basketball, as oppose to watching and thinking they can dissect it because they realize who hit a shot. It’s fine.”

All true enough — every sportswriter has, at some point, inaccurately analyzed a play because of the result. But again, it’s not like this is 2005 and Draymond is some underappreciated dervish on the Nets. He’s Draymond Green!

“How would you go about teaching them?,” another reporter asked.

“Well, first off, in order to learn, you have to understand what you don’t know, and most people don’t understand that they don’t know s—t, so they’re just f---ed, and that’s just what it would be,” Green said.

“It’s like a drug addict. The first step to rehab is admitting that you’re a drug addict. And so when you have all these internet sensations thinking they know the game of basketball, they would then have to admit that they don’t know basketball, and no one’s going to do that, so they’re pretty much just f---ed.”

It’s hard to revel in Green’s rant too much without knowing which specific “internet sensations” he’s annoyed by, but everyone covering sports can use a reminder to have a little humility, and we can all unite around clowning on basketbloggers.