Draymond Green makes $3.1 million donation to Michigan State athletics
Draymond Green made a significant contribution to his alma mater after signing an $82 million extension with Golden State this summer.
Green announced a 3.1 million donation to Michigan State athletics Thursday in conjunction with the school, where the native of Saginaw, Mich., played from 2008–12. It’s the largest single gift to Michigan State athletics from an athlete, according to the Detroit Free Press, as well as the largest gift ever from an active professional athlete to a university, according to Forbes.com.
After winning the NBA title with Golden State in June, Green, a former second-round pick, inked the long-term deal as a restricted free agent, enabling him to make such a large donation. The Draymond Green Strength and Conditioning Center will be named in his honor and will include a new entrance to Michigan State’s Breslin Center as well as a hall of history and recruiting center. Green’s gift, if approved by the board of trustees, will donate $1 million toward the developments and the rest to a scholarship endowment.
• GOLLIVER: Off-season grades: Pacific | JENKINS: Warriors celebrate title
“Do I take the credit for that?” Green said of his new contract and NBA success at a news conference Thursday. “Or do I give the credit to where it's rightfully due, which is my university?”
Green won three Big Ten titles at Michigan State, going to two Final Fours and being named the 2012 Big Ten Player of the Year. His aunt, Annette Babers, played for the Spartans in the ‘80s.
• Grade the deal: Warriors’ Green signs long-term | Top 100 Players of 2016
- Jeremy Woo
