Editor’s note: The Chronicle is reviewing the season of each player after the Warriors’ second straight championship run.

A brash, emotional leader, Draymond Green needs high stakes to be at his best.

That is why those who know him didn’t fret when he struggled with consistency during the regular season. They recognized that, when the playoffs arrived, Green would return to his do-everything ways.

He didn’t disappoint. After a regular season that failed to reach his lofty standard, Green was a driving force in the Warriors’ third championship run in four years.

He averaged 14.8 points, 11.8 rebounds and 10.0 assists against New Orleans in the Western Conference finals to become the first player in franchise history to average a triple-double in a playoff series. In the West finals and NBA Finals, Green played with his signature fury, lifting his team out of its doldrums at just the right moment.

It was easy to forget that he was dealing with nagging injuries.

Right shoulder soreness, the lingering aftermath from JaVale McGee undercutting him on a block attempt in November, bothered Green almost all season. At various points, Green dealt with a swollen elbow, knee soreness, a bruised pelvis and emergency dental surgery to correct a tooth that was knocked back on a Russell Westbrook drive.

Still, Green’s issues this past season were rooted in more than injuries.

More Information Draymond Green bio Age: 28 Position: Power forward Ht./Wt.: 6-7, 230 pounds Hometown: Saginaw, Mich. College: Michigan State Years pro: 6 2017-18 averages: 11.0 points, 7.6 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 1.3 blocks, 32.7 minutes per game Contract status: Entering fourth year of a five-year, $82 million deal

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In November, while speaking to a standing-room-only crowd of more than 150 students and faculty members at Harvard’s Institute of Politics, he took responsibility for Golden State’s first three losses of the season. For reasons he did not reveal, Green was having a tough time finding the emotional bravado that had fueled him since his days playing the older kids at Civitan Recreation Center in Saginaw, Mich.

After being the centerpiece of a top-five defense for four straight seasons, Green was part of the reason the Warriors slumped to ninth this past season. His focus waned as he made uncharacteristic defensive mistakes. With Green on the court in the regular season, Golden State’s defensive rating was 103.7 — a far cry from the 98.4, 96.0, 97.5 and 99.3 it posted the four previous seasons.

It didn’t help matters that Green struggled to rein in his emotions. Instead of moving on to the next play, he often jawed with referees on his way back down-court. His 15 technical fouls were one shy of a league-mandated one-game suspension.

Though Green unleashed on the officials multiple times in the playoffs, he did a much better job of avoiding run-ins without sacrificing his tenacity. In April, May and June, when Green played at an All-NBA level, one thing was clear: By coasting at times in the regular season, he preserved necessary energy for the sport’s biggest stage.

Offseason outlook: Warriors majority owner Joe Lacob has said that he plans to offer Green, who is entering the fourth year of a five-year, $82 million deal, a new contract this summer.

However, odds are that he’ll prefer to wait until free agency. Green could make far more than the three-year, $71.7 million deal he could be extended for this summer if he just holds out.

Connor Letourneau is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: cletourneau@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Con_Chron