Draymond can name all 34 players drafted before him in 2012
Draymond Green was the 35th pick of the 2012 NBA draft, which seems crazy in retrospect.
Now serving as the heartbeat of a 73-win team looking to repeat as champions, Green has proven plenty of teams wrong in his continued development into an elite power forward. Even the Golden State Warriors didn't see this coming - they took Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli before finally nabbing Green.
Still raw about how it all went down, a bitter Green remembers every player selected before him.
Jon Wilner of Bay Area News Group writes:
"First was Anthony Davis to New Orleans," he says. "Then Charlotte took (Michael) Kidd-Gilchrist. Then Washington took Bradley Beal. Fourth was Cleveland: Dion Waiters.
"Eight was Toronto: Terrence Ross ...
"Sixteen was Houston: Royce White ...
By the time he's done, Green has reeled off the names of all 34 players selected ahead of him and the corresponding team.
In order.
With the benefit of hindsight, a two-way star like Green would probably go second or third overall behind Davis and Damian Lillard - at the very least in the top five. He would certainly go ahead of flameouts like Fab Melo (22), Arnett Moultrie (27), Marquis Teague (29), and Tomas Satoransky (32).
And now that he has a championship, an All-Star appearance, and an $82-million contract extension in hand, Green gets the last laugh.
"I will never forget that night," Green added. "I had to wait all that time. I'm not saying I'm cocky or anything, but I felt like I had to wait behind guys I was better than.
"And I think I've proven it."