Draymond’s (mis)deeds: Controversial Warriors star’s top 5 playoff transgressions
Green has a well-earned reputation for physical play intended to get inside opponents' heads.
Draymond Green is a perpetual line-stepper.
His teammates and Dub Nation often love him for it.
His opponents and their fans absolutely despise him for it.
Oftentimes, his antics provoke opposing players into outsize reactions or poor play, but on Monday night in Sacramento, he was the one reacting — and he paid the price.
After falling down on a fourth-quarter box-out, Kings center Domantas Sabonis saw Green’s planted foot, which was near his chest, and latched onto it. Green raised the foot Sabonis was clutching and stomped on his chest. Sabonis received a technical foul and Green was ejected with a Flagrant 2 foul. Both players defended their actions postgame after the Warriors lost.
The incident harkened back to Green’s other playoff scuffles, which have been a hallmark of his career.
Below are just a few instances of the Warriors star creating chaos in the postseason.
Nut Punch — 2016 NBA Finals
The most infamous moment in Green’s since-patched-up relationship with LeBron James. Green took a swing at James’ undercarriage as the then-Cavs star stepped over him during Game 4 of the 2016 Finals.
No foul was called at first, but the NBA reviewed the situation and assessed a flagrant foul, forcing him to sit out Game 5, which Cleveland won to cut the Warriors’ lead in the series to 3-2. We all know how that one ended.
Nut Kick — 2016 West finals
Green’s flagrant foul on James resulted in a suspension because earlier in that same postseason, Green nailed Thunder center Steven Adams in the crotch with a wayward leg while shooting a layup. He received a Flagrant 1 for that offense and stayed in the game.
Grab-and-pull — 2022 West semis
Green was ejected from Game 1 of the Warriors’ contentious series against the Grizzlies during their 2022 title run when he hit Brandon Clarke in the face with a block attempt, then pulled the Memphis forward down, tearing his jersey. In Green’s defense, he did appear to try to break Clarke’s fall after the fact.
Of course, this wasn’t the last time Green made a scene in Memphis during that series: In the middle of the Grizzlies’ 39-point Game 5 beatdown, Green began shouting along with fans singing “Whoop That Trick”, a signature Memphis song.
Laying of the legs — 2022 NBA Finals
Steph Curry’s signature moment from last year’s Finals was his incredible Game 4 performance. Green’s signature moment may have come in Game 2, when he put his feet on Jaylen Brown while both were on the ground following a Green foul on Brown’s 3-point attempt, then tugging on Brown’s shorts as he tried to get up.
Just magnificent stuff.
More LeBron madness
Green and James have had their battles over the years, whether it was Green shoulder-checking James for a common foul in the 2017 Finals, poking James in the eye in the 2018 Finals, or poking him in the eye in a 2021 play-in game. (James, always crafting his own legacy, said he saw three rims when he shot the game-winning 3-pointer in that 2021 showdown.)
But in 2019, Green switched agents to join the James-affiliated Klutch Sports Group, so the two are buddies now, no matter how many eyes are poked along the way.