Grizzlies HC Iisalo compares Draymond to legendary Italian central defender Paolo Maldini: “Maldini who had very little tackles & considered not a great defender. His coaches said yes not many tackles but that’s because he handles the problems before they emerge. Draymond is that type of player”

40 comments

1. Agree! Draymond discourages actions because people see him in position.

2. Maldini is a legend, love the comp

3. dray’s block numbers this season: pedestrian

   dray’s block *highlights* this season: insane

4. I am thoroughly aroused. Might snap later in homage to the greatest heel of all time.

5. Really love this guy, hope he secures the Head Coach position

6. Already like this guy a million times more than Jenkins

7. I watch soccer and I totally agree with him. Maldini is considered one of the soccer’s best defenders. He could play anywhere in defence. Draymond’s defensive awareness and IQ is just pure class, considering he can guard 1-5 with his size .

8. I thought tackling as a defender was weird but I didn’t realize Maldini was a soccer player not basketball center

9. The amount of 3v1 2v1 fast breaks i see him stop is unlike anyone I’ve ever seen. You have 3 nba quality players running down hill and he stops it almost every time. It’s not human

10. a man of culture i see

11. Maldini is widely considered to be the single best defender ever?

12. Draymoldini.

13. Great comp… Maldini was my favorite defender growing up. He was also ruthless

14. Their new coach seems cool. Thats nice of him to be complementary towards Dray. And its well deserved, Im glad he is getting the recognition

15. That’s a great way to put it–he handles the problems before they emerge.

16. Most visceral defender ever. Elite defender without elite athleticism or size.

17. Legendary worldwide football player and basketball fan Thierry Henry said that Paolo Maldini’s the best Italian defender he has seen. So, can confirm Coach’s comparison.

18. If anyone has seen the dubs talk podcast with Draymond recently Draymond goes a little more in depth with regard to his defense and how he plays now compared to when he played around 2015. Pretty great listen imo.

19. I noticed Dray having some dialog with Tuomas during the game but it seemed super friendly, clearly Tumoas knows whats up.

20. As a Parisian citizen, fan of the Paris Basketball, I’m really happy for our former coach

21. Maldini believes if he has to make a tackle, he alr fails at doing his job

22. HAHA, the headline is a lot different that full quote. It’s hard in one line to frame a compliment starting with an diss.

    Maldini is considered to be a top 5 Italian player of all time, not just defender. I’ll skip over my limited understanding of soccer, but I do enjoy this conflict resolution between Maldini and his teammate Gennaro Gattuso, one of the wild men of the sport. Suffice to say, Maldini didn’t draymaker Gattuso like Draymond did to Jordan Poole.

    [https://youtu.be/R_IzZpY01rg?si=T8j8mcevSxohJgxE](https://youtu.be/R_IzZpY01rg?si=T8j8mcevSxohJgxE)

23. This is the /r/warriors and /r/acmilan crossover event I never knew I needed

24. Quite a nice compliment

25. wild comparison, but it makes perfect sense

26. FUCK THE GRIZZLIES but this guy is not bad

27. Dray and Steph are similar, both GOAT IMO in getting the most out of the least, neither were given the nartural physical tools (like Lebron) to dominate…but they do. Highest IQ, best work ethic and instincts in the league. Who else does what they do, is anyone even close? Nope.

28. I think a better comparison for draymond green would be Rio Ferdinand.
    Paolo Maldini is too great of a player and men to be used for a comparison to green.

29. Shoutout paolo maldini. No clue who this guys is but he’s my favorite soccer player now.

30. Great comparison. Maldini is an absolute legend and will go down as a top-5 CB/Defender of all time.

31. Taylor Jenkins would never

32. This is true

33. People don’t always understand that the big two has always been Steph Curry and Draymond Green, that’s the MegaZord, that’s Exodia. Those two together may be the best player in NBA history. One is an offensive engine, the other is not just a defender, but a defense in himself.

34. I felt similarly about Klay pre-injuries too. Not a lot of steals but the dude he was guarding just didn’t do anything meaningful. It’d be dribble dribble fail to penetrate dribble pass. Klay just stayed in front of his man and rarely bit on jukes.

35. DPOYmond. We gotta get him one more for all the times he should have won before.

36. It kinda strange for me the crazy fan of AC Milan (since probably 20+ years) and dubs… Paolo is considered THE BEST defender of all time. I don’t know who in the football universe considered Maldini just not a great defender /or meh defender.
    Paolo Maldini skills, talents, leadership, personality, etc.. is not in discussion.

    In the other hand, the lack of Draymond maybe is he can be a jerk and piss us first, even before he pisses the rival players…

37. Reading this as both a HUGE AC Milan and Warriors fan brings me great happiness. The comparison itself is on point as well. Maldini was outstanding on both sides of the ball just like how Draymond is both a wall on defense and a conductor on offense.

38. Maldini is quite possible the greatest soccer defender of all time, talk about mad respect!

39. Where did he hear that thing about Maldini not being considered a great defender?

    He’s literally considered to be the greatest defender ever, only rivaled by Beckenbauer and Baresi.

40. As an AC Milan fan, I really like this statement. They are both diffensive maestro.