Then-senior forward Draymond Green holds the Big Ten Tournament championship trophy after the game against Ohio State. The Spartans won their first Big Ten Tournament in 12 years by defeating the Buckeyes, 68-64, at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on March 11, 2012.
Draymond Green had doubters when he entered the NBA after a senior season at MSU in which he averaged 16.2 points per game and 10.6 rebounds per game.
Despite improving every year at MSU and helping to lead the Spartans to two Final Four appearances, in 2009 and 2010, Green wasn't selected in the first round of the draft.
Green was ultimately selected a few picks into the second round with the No. 35-overall pick and he has certainly proved his value.
With no true position—Green was considered to be undersized as a big man and not athletic enough to be a wing, he fell down draft boards.
Coming into a contract year it was a make or break year for the former Spartan and he made the most of it. At the beginning of the season Green was a reserve, but after a injury to David Lee Green assumed the starting role and never looked back.
His frame ended up being his best weapon as Green is generally stronger than wings and quicker than the bigs he squares off against.
Green averaged 11.7 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 3.7 apg, 1.3 blkpg and 1.6 stlpg during the regular season a year in which he as named the runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year, an award many believed he would win.
Green's play had already likely secured him a hefty contract in the off season but his performance in the post season cemented it.
Green will likely receive a max-contract offer this summer as a restricted free-agent after averaging 13.7 ppg, 10.1 rpg, 5.2 apg, 1.2 blkpg and 1.8 stlpg in the playoffs— capped off by a 16 point, 11 rebound and 10 assist triple-double effort in the championship-clenching game 6 of the Finals.
The Golden State Warriors would not be the 2015 NBA champions if it weren't for Greens rise as a do-it-all two-way forward and now Green is going to cash in.
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