Bill Russell. Scottie Pippen. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Metta World Peace. Gary Payton. Tim Duncan. Michael Jordan. Dwight Howard. Elvin Hayes. Kevin Garnett. Ben Wallace. Kawhi Leonard.



The list of great defenders is long like Rudy Gobert’s wingspan. On that side of the ball, where the metrics are limited and individuals don’t usually operate in isolation, it is especially difficult to rank the best defenders. Choosing the greatest ever? That just seems impossible. Except for Draymond Green.



“The best ever defender?” Green said after the Warriors held Portland to 46 points on 38.5 percent shooting in the second half in Thursday’s 114-111 win in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals.



“Me.”



The best defender ever?



“Me.” Green punctuated his declaration with a nod as he strutted out of the locker room with a smile. But he wasn’t joking. “That’s what I believe.