Draymond's December NBA AWARDS

What's up everybody? Welcome back to the Draymond Green Show. On today's episode, I am excited to present to you the second edition of the monthly Draymond Green Awards. That is what this episode will be. And we'll have a little Golden Days as we have not had one for a while. And it is time to ring in the new year with a Golden Days edition. [MUSIC] The Draymond Green Show is proudly presented by Grooms. Grooms proves that you can do the least and still feel the most thanks to a delicious daily habit that does the heavy lifting. Save up to 52% off with code Draymond at Grooms.co. That's code Draymond at Grooms.co. Let's get right into these monthly awards. And first, I would like to start with my first team of the month. That first team of the month will be none other than SGA, Shake Your Sales, reigning MVP. Still doing what he doing. Still got everybody complaining about the foul calls, which, you know, that's your complaint. I think he does a great job at drawing the fouls. But, you know, when you get a reputation like we were speaking about on the last episode, you're gonna get more of the benefit of the doubt. When you talk tenure, when you talk reputation, you're gonna get more of the benefit of the doubt. Nonetheless, what you cannot deny is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a bucket and he is a great leader. He's led that team out of the dumps to NBA champions. You cannot deny that. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is taking the first spot on our first team. And the second spot will go to Jaylen Brown. Jaylen Brown has been doing it. What he's doing is incredible. The Boston Celtics, essentially kind of waved the white flag going into this season. And Jaylen Brown did not. Jaylen Brown is on a tear. He's made Jason Tatum coming back this year a realistic thing because the team is in the race. If you're not in the race, why would you even do it? That becomes more of a realistic thing to even try to do with what Jaylen Brown has done. Possibly should have been Eastern Conference Player of the Month with the basketball that he's been playing, with the basketball he's got the Celtics playing. Jalen Brown is second on our list. Third on our list is Jalen Brunson, the Eastern Conference Player of the Month. Jalen Brunson is doing what Jalen Brunson does. He gets timely buckets, he gets easy buckets, he gets tough buckets, he just gets the bucket. Facts. Doing an incredible job. Knicks is on a bit of a slide right now, but Jalen Brunson still playing at an elite level. Our fourth guy on the list, welcome back to the top. Playing at an elite level, everybody had counted him out. Asked him last night, was at the free throw line, or earlier this week, was at the free throw line. Like, yo man, you got your legs back under you, huh? He like, man, Hell yeah. Like you can tell, you can see it. This guy was trying to dribble through 4 different people that time trying to get a bucket. That's how great he's feeling. Great to see Kawhi Leonard playing Kawhi Leonard style basketball, healthy. And because he's healthy, the Clippers have been on the run. Winning 7 of their last 8 after starting 6-21. So shout out to Kawhi Leonard doing it at a high level. And last on our— List is none other than the Joker. Hate to see Joker go down with an injury, but these are awards for December and Joker played the majority of December and was obviously playing at a very elite level that had him number 1 on the MVP tracker. And also had the Denver Nuggets playing well despite Aaron Gordon being out, despite Christian Braun being out. Joker has had them playing at an elite level and putting up the crazy numbers that we all know Joker to put up, including the Christmas Day 44, 16, and 15. So last spot on the first team goes to Joker. That is our first team for the month of December. And just to note for you all, this is not an accumulation of the season. So one month, a guy who you may not put in the first team normally could be on a complete heater. And end up in this first team. This is just for the month, month of December. That is our first team. And moving on, we got our DG Certified Defender of the Month. And this award could go a few different ways, but this award for me will go to Isaiah Stewart. Certified Defender of the Month. I think Isaiah Stewart, number one, he been whooping shit. Averaging a little over 2 blocks a game throughout the course of December. That's coming off the bench, only playing about 24, 26 minutes a game. But he's been an elite level defender when he's out there. And the Pistons are winning games, you know, and he is their enforcer. He is their best defender on their team, especially from the big spot. You know, that's what he brings to that team. And I think he's been doing it at an elite level. So my Certified DG, DG Certified Defender of the Month will go to Isiah Stewart. When you are winning games at that level and you bringing it on the defensive end, it is extremely important to me that you get the recognition. And I don't think Isaiah Stewart has been one that's been recognized a bunch for his defense. A lot of people like to try to recognize him because he don't take shit. A lot of people try to recognize him because he will fight you. He will do all of those things. But in this case, you will be recognized for the defense that he brings to the floor. And he's been doing that at an elite level. So my Certified Defender of the Month for the month of December is none other than Isaiah Stewart. Detroit basketball. I'll be honest, healthy habits have never been more important. So this year I actually found a routine that's much easier to stick to. Grooms. Feels like doing the least, works like doing the most. A simple, delicious daily habit that makes a real difference without overhauling my life. 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For, in the NBA, this award, it kind of goes to a high draft pick that improved and became a borderline all-star to a bona fide all-star. That's usually how this award goes. I think it's crazy, but it's just like in the NFL, right? Like in the NFL, the MVP award is a, Quarterback Award. Miles Garrett can have his greatest year as he want. Someone else can— receiver. Adrian Peterson, the last running back we've seen do it. But like, the MVP should be renamed like the Best Quarterback Award because that's who's getting the MVP Award is usually the best quarterback. Some awards don't quite fit the name. And Most Improved Player in the NBA is one of those awards that just doesn't quite fit the name. For that reason, we break our most improved player down into two categories. And it is broken down into the, who made the, made the jump award. Who made the jump? And then the outta nowhere award. Made the jump award is a good player who is now a really good or great player. And outta nowhere award is a bench guy who's now a real contributor. And who made the jump award for me, I've spoken about him a little bit on the pod, but nonetheless, Michael Porter Jr. Michael Porter Jr. has made the jump. Michael Porter Jr. is one of the guys leading in trade talks. And that's due because their team isn't great and he's playing great basketball. And when you have a team like that that is looking to rebuild and you come across someone like Michael Porter Jr., they usually flip that guy for draft picks. Now it'll be interesting to see if that happens. If it was to happen, I don't know that it is gonna happen, but I'm just telling you on— Yeah. Talks that I've read, everybody's saying everyone's calling for Michael Porter Jr. And when that happens, you either get a bunch of picks or young player and picks to help that's on your timeline. MPJ has been playing incredible basketball. He was the number one player coming outta high school, had multiple back surgeries. Health wasn't quite on his side. And we never really got to see him be the player that we all had once heard he was. Until now, you're starting to see that. You're starting to see elite level shot making from the 3, the midi, getting to the hole, putting the ball on the floor. Like he is looking like a lot of the guy that we heard he was before we had the opportunity to see him play at this level. So Michael Porter Jr. has definitely made the jump and he's made himself a very valuable asset for the Brooklyn Nets. We shall see what they do with him. Yeah. Do with it over the next 9 days. But I respect what Mike said. Mike came out and said, listen, man, I, I wanna be here. I wanna be right here in Brooklyn. Brooklyn's been great to me. I love it here. But if they trade me, I wanna be on the team that wants me. And I respect that. Couldn't have been better. Well said. Couldn't have been better said than, than the way Michael Porter Jr. said it. He is playing like he wanna be there. He is also playing like, hey, if y'all trade me, The next situation I go to, I'm gonna be a higher option than the situation I came from. And I think that's a goal of Michael Porter Jr. And so he is delivering the way he should be delivering in order to make that happen. So Michael Porter Jr. has won the Made the Jump Award for December. Outta Nowhere Award goes to a bench guy who is now a real contributor. And to me, this award has to go, there's no other answer. I wanted to go with my guy Pat Spencer. I thought Pat Spencer was deserving. Dennis Jenkins was deserving, a young guy from the Pistons. But I don't think either one of them was more deserving than Collin Gillespie. Collin Gillespie is a guy who's been overlooked at every step of the journey. Coming outta high school, he said that his, His goal was to play at Delaware. He goes on to play at Villanova and becomes a national champion. Becomes a mainstay at Villanova. Become one of those guys that will be loved at Villanova forever. Hoops, goes undrafted, works his way up. G League, Summer League, two-way. He's a guy who's now a real contributor for the Phoenix Suns. That is our Outta Nowhere Award. That is kind of what the Most Improved Award should be about. In the NBA, it's not quite that way because it, you know, the reality is it probably just doesn't sell. But nonetheless, Collin Gillespie, our Outta Nowhere Award bench guy who's now a real contributor. Colin Gillespie has earned that, deserved that. You're talking a Phoenix Suns team that everybody thought would be in the dumps after the KD trade, thought they'd be garbage. And he's been one of the reasons that that team has had the success they've had. So Colin Gillespie is our Outta Nowhere Award for the winner of, for the month of December. Be that Colin, you know, one of the reasons Colin has been able to come outta nowhere is due to the injury of Draymond Green. Draymond Green has been out for all but, a game and a half this season, which has allowed him an opportunity. I think Jalen Green will be back soon and it'll be interesting to see what Phoenix does with Collin Gillespie. 'Cause like obviously Jalen Green coming back will affect his minutes. And I think, you know, hey, Collin has to be your sixth man. Gotta be the first man off the bench. That's, you know, he can come in and replace either guard, whether that's Dillon, Book, Jalen Green, he can come in and replace any of 'em. You're gonna want one of those guys in your second unit anyway. So I think he's the first player off the bench that allows him to kind of keep the same flow, same rhythm in a sense, but more importantly, keep the same aggressiveness. I think, you know, when you have to go away from a guy who's been playing as well as Kyle has been playing, I think the most important thing you want him to keep is the aggressiveness that he's shown and played with. And so for Collin, I think that's what Phoenix will need to do. They'll need to make sure he's the first person off the bench. And, or he continue to start when Jalen Green first get back. 'Cause he's probably gonna be on a minute restriction. So maybe you bring Jalen Green off the bench in the interim, probably for 10 games or so as he's working. Like this is a hamstring and it's the second one. Gotta take your time with it. Can't put him out there playing 30 minutes a night. He's gonna have to play 18 minutes, 20 minutes. He's gonna have to build up to that. And so maybe you bring Draymond Green off the bench for the sake of his minutes restriction to keep Collin in the starting lineup. But eventually he'll go back to the bench, but he needs to be your sixth man. He needs to keep that same confidence. He's a key contributor for the Suns. And he's been one of the key reasons they've had some of the success that they've had. Our Firestarter of the Month. I wanna remind you, our firestarter is someone who's getting into it with people, someone who's stirring up controversy on the floor. And our first winner was Jeremiah Fears. Jeremiah Fears has seemed to simmer down a little bit. Those texts start mounting. You start to get talks from the organization. They're like, "All right, now, like, it's cool and you gonna be this, but you gotta figure out different ways to do it." I know he played with Joe, you know, played for Joe D in the front office. Joe D gonna have those types of conversations with his young fellas. However, Pelicans are 2-0 in the Firestarter of the Month Award because Jose Alvarado, will be our Firestarter of the Month for the month of December. If you get into a fight and you beat a guy up, you gotta be the Firestarter of the Month. Now, I've had some recent ejections, these things. Maybe Steve Kerr should have been the Firestarter of the Month, 'cause Steve had some fire when he was going at me. But I've had some ejections. So I'm gonna put myself as an honorary here, but I didn't get into a fight. You get into a fight in the NBA, you have to take the Firestarter of the Month. And as we said before, usually the guy who wins the fight gets the bigger punishment. So Jose Alvarado beat up Mark Williams. Jose gotta be the Firestarter of the Month. You just gotta take the cake, Jose. I'm sorry. Can't be beating guys up, Jose. So Jose Alvarado is our Firestarter of the Month for the month of December. That makes the Pelicans 2-0. We will see in January, can they keep their reign going? Right now, the Pelicans is dominating the Firestarter of the Month. Our Must-See TV Player of the Month, he has been Must-See TV Player of the Year for about 13, 14 years and counting. None other than the one and only 3-0, Steph Curry, is our Must See TV Player of the Month. And you, he is Must See TV because you must be watching. Because if you're not watching, you can be missing history at any point. Still putting up the crazy numbers, still putting, doing it on incredible elite shot making over every defense that you can possibly see. Steph is the definition of Must See TV. He was that in December. He'll probably be that in January. It's just unbelievable what we get a chance to witness on a nightly basis with Steph Curry. So he is definitely our Must See TV Player of the Month for the month of December. Our KD Just a Hooper Award. So I wanna explain this award again. So when I think KD, obviously you think buckets. But more importantly, when I think KD, when I say the KD Just a Hooper Award, I'm explaining a guy who, no matter the circumstances around him, no matter what's going on around him, he's a guy that when I step on this floor, the same things are happening. I'm just a hooper. This is what I do. KD, injuries around him, no injuries around him, commotion, everything's going haywire, does not matter. Put 20 points in the book and then you start to add from there. That is Kevin Durant. That is our Jista Hooper. Yeah. Award of the month, the KD Just a Hooper Award of the month. And this month, last month our winner was Austin Reeves. This month our winner is Jaylen Brown. You're on a team in an organization that said, we need to reset this salary cap. We need to reset this tax situation. Jason Tatum's gonna be out all year. Right now is the time to do it. Boom. Our Horford walks, trade Jrue Holiday. We're gonna get these books loaded. And then our just a hooper shows up. Jalen Brown, regardless of what's going on around me from an organization standpoint, Jason Tatum being out, all of these things. 30, 30, 35, 40, 35, 55. That, That embodies what it is to be the KD Just a Hooper of the Month. That embodies it because that's who Kevin Durant is. It does not matter what's going on around me. This is what I'm giving you every night. That's our KD Just a Hooper Award of the Month. And that is Jaylen Brown. What Jaylen Brown has been doing, I cannot overstate, is insane, incredible. Elite level, getting to the hole going left, getting to the hole going right, incredible shot making, pulling up dead in your face, getting to the middie, just a hooper, getting to it. And he talking to y'all about it now while he doing it. So like KD does, KD does his on Twitter, Jaylen Brown does his on his stream. Shout out to Jaylen Brown. He is the winner of the KD Just a Hooper Award of the Month. Incredible to see the level that he's playing at, proving to everybody exactly who he is. Last but not least, our Nick Young Swing Player of the Month. There's always these guys that does not get the credit. They don't, it doesn't always show up in the stat sheet, but they swing games, they swing momentum. A swing series. Tyler Kolic from the New York Knicks is our Swing Player of the Month for the month of December. Tyler Kolic has gotten his opportunity under Mike Brown and he has shown up. He's brought crazy energy. He's getting to the hole. He's shooting the ball. He's been a secondary ball handler for the New York Knicks when Jalen Brunson is out the game. I think the level that he stepped his game up at and what he's doing for the New York Knicks, he is our Nick Young Swing Player of the Month. We love guys who doesn't necessarily get the credit to be highlighted. And this is an award that will highlight those guys that swing things in the favor of their team. And Tyler Kolic has done that. So tip my hat to Tyler Kolic. This is a new award that we will have added. Nick Young Swing Player of the Month. So shout out to Tyler Kolic, keep going. Love to see the young fellas take advantage of their opportunity. The coach give you 2 minutes, you gotta make him give you 4. If he give you 4, goddammit, you gotta make him give you 8. And if you lucky enough to get 8, then you gotta make him give you 16. That's how I look at it. And that's what Tyler Kolic has done. And he's earned more and more minutes and he's become a mainstay throughout the rotation of the New York Knicks. So shout out to Tyler Kolic. Shout out to Tyler. On the month of December, Nick Young Swing Player of the Month. Lately I've been craving that little end of day ritual. You know, making a drink, taking a breath, just transitioning outta work mode. But I haven't always wanted the alcohol part. So I started exploring non-alcoholic spirits. And as an athlete, I can't drink alcohol every day. And the one that's really surprised me was Arke. They've been doing this for over a decade, long before sober curious even was a trend. And they were created for anyone who wants the flavor and experience of a cocktail without the alcohol. Arkaï, spelled A-R-K-A-Y, makes zero-proof versions of basically every major spirit. Whiskey, tequila, gin, rum, vodka, even amaretto. They're zero alcohol, zero sugar, and zero calories. But they still taste shockingly close to the real thing. Their patented warm molecule gives you the burn effect. That warm, smooth kick you normally only get from alcohol without a drop of it. I tried swapping in RK's rum for my usual dark and stormy, and it genuinely fooled me. The flavor, the finish, the subtle warmth, it all showed up. And with more than 20 flavors, you can recreate pretty much anything you love. Investors, influencers, and millions of fans are joining the RK Zero Proof revolution, and the warm molecule is changing the game. With the holiday season and dry January here, there's no better time to try RK Zero Proof. Your favorite cocktails made non-alcoholic. RK available at Walmart, Amazon, or arkaybeverages.com. That's A-R-K-A-Y beverages.com. That is it for our awards for the month of December. And as promised, we will get into Golden Days before we get outta here. For those of you who don't know what Golden Days are, these are moments from the Golden Days. Of the Golden State Warriors. Share your moment with us at draymondgreen@audacy.com if you have some questions that you would like to see shown or answered on the Draymond Green Show right here in front of you. So from Danny, can you please discuss the impact of Andrew Bogut on both yourself and the beginning of the Dubs dynasty? Believe his injury in 2016 Finals isn't brought up enough when discussing reasons why the Warriors lost Game 7. Andrew Bogut on my career is as valuable as anyone. Andrew Bogut taught me how to play both post-defense the first day I got to go to state. Andrew Bogut helped me understand different reads on the defensive end as good as anyone has taught me. Andrew Bogut, I can never overstate enough how much he meant to my, the beginning of my career and the player that I've been able to be. Become. When you talk the beginning of the Dubs dynasty and how important Andrew Bogut was, he was that force in the middle for us. We knew, and going up against Dwight Howard, who's a great big at the time, and going up against the great bigs in the league at the time, we knew we had a guy that can guard and stop all of them. Going into the, you know, during that time, bigs were very valuable. And going into these series, We knew no matter what at the 5 position, we gonna be solid because Bogues got 'em. He was very vital in his leadership. He was very vital to the beginning of the dynasty, to what became a dynasty. Huge. And like I said, everything that he taught myself, I could never thank Bogues enough, man. Incredible. Like I was so lucky to come into an organization that had Andrew Bogut to teach me the things that he taught me. Because it's paid dividends in my career and, you know, allowed me to become the defender that I've become. So huge. And as far as his injury in 2016 Finals, no one ever talks about it, but it was big. We needed Bogues in that series and he had a fractured rib. Mm-hmm. And he couldn't go, you know, and that was huge for us. Because when you lose a player in a series, trying to find that fifth guy can always be tough. And so we didn't have Bogues, and now you gotta try to find the fifth guy to plug in. And we just didn't really have enough time for the adjustment. And so that was huge. No one ever really talks about Bogues being hurt and missing that Game 7, but that was everything. We needed Bogues in that Game 7. I think if we have Bogues, we're completely different story. Nonetheless— Draymond Green. It is what it is. And we weren't able to make up what we lost in his absence and ultimately ended up falling to the Cleveland Cavaliers that year, 2016. But Boga was huge, man. Boga's one of the best post defenders I've seen. Smart as hell. His passing out of the high post was incredible. Just really saw the game through a different lens. Incredible player, his demeanor that he brought. I saw Bogues give like some of your favorite big men hell. Couldn't score on him. Like hell. Strong as hell, athletic, great shot blocker. Contesting everything at the rim. You dunk on him one time, you gotta do it 3 more times, 'cause he will be there every time you go. Like Bogues, man. And then watch out, 'cause he will catch you and put it— Put it on your head as well. So shout out to Bogues. Danny, appreciate you asking the question about Bogues, 'cause he was huge in my development as a player. He was huge in our success as a team. It's always great having the big fella when we did have him. So that is our Golden Days moment of this episode. And that is a wrap on this episode. Thank you all again for tuning into the Draymond Green Show. Until next time. Deuces. If you're rocking with the Draymond Green Show, be sure to click follow on your favorite podcast app. And while you're there, go ahead and drop a 5-star rating and leave a review. I wanna hear what you think, and it would also mean a ton to me if you share it with a friend that you think would enjoy it. Let's keep this thing growing. The Draymond Green Show is presented by Audacy and executive produced in conjunction with The New Media. Our executive producers are Leah Reese Dennis, Danny Friesinger, and Greg Holtzman. Video production and creative design by Curt Courtney, Tim Meekle, Lauren Vieira, and Evan O'Brien. Special thanks to the team at The New Media and the team at Audacy. Maura Curran, Josephina Francis, Hillary Shuff, Eric Donnelly, Kate Rose, Colin Gaynor, and Jake Gally. [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]