OAKLAND – When Draymond Green walked onto the floor at the Warriors facility Tuesday afternoon dressed up as Santa Claus it as was altogether appropriate.
Green has been the most giving of athletes this season, on the court and off. So when he handed out gifts to Kumar Polk, an 8-year-old Vallejo boy who eight months ago was critically wounded in a drive-by shooting, the youngster’s face lit up the surprise, even as he recognized Green beneath the red Santa suit and massive white beard.
For Green, it was another opportunity to share. After leaving the facility, he headed to a hospital to hand out more gifts. All of this comes seven days after Green spent several thousand dollars on gift cards for local homeless youth in Emeryville – and five months after he donated $3.1 million to Michigan State, the school at which he says he learned what it means to be a man.
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Giving has become, in a way, Green’s signature.
He is averaging 7.1 assists per game, good enough to lead the Warriors and rank sixth in the entire NBA. Green is one of two non-guards – LeBron James is the other – averaging at least five assists per game.
“That’s fun for me,” Green says of setting up his teammates.
”That’s just how I am in life, though. I’d rather somebody else have it than me. So I get more excited off getting an assist, because you’re getting somebody else going. You’re helping somebody else out, as opposed to me scoring.
“If I score, I score. Who cares? But getting an assist? That’s the funnest part of the game for me.”
Green is scoring nonetheless, averaging 14.3 points per game. Moreover, he’s scoring even better in the places where it really matters.
