Getty Draymond Green guards Rudy Gobert in a 2021 game.
Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green grew a bit testy at being compared to Rudy Gobert, and now the Utah Jazz star is clapping back.
Green spoke out during All-Star weekend about comparisons to the fellow defensive-minded big man, but said he doesn’t believe they’re the same at all. Gobert has now responded, saying Green’s criticism is just “noise” and hinting that he was just trying to draw attention with the remarks.
The latest Warriors news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on Warriors newsletter here!
Gobert Responds to Green
Green was originally slated to play in the All-Star Game last weekend, but a back injury forced him out of the game and into his side-job as a TNT analyst. During the broadcast, Green was compared to Gobert but pushed back, saying he’s not anything like the Jazz center.
“You keep mentioning me in the same sentence with him,” Green said, via NBC Sports Bay Area’s Tristi Rodriguez. “We’re not alike.”
“You’re not like Rudy Gobert?” fellow co-host Kenny Smith asked.
“Nah, we ain’t nothing alike,” Green said.
Gobert was asked about the comments this week, and said it was “just noise to me.” The Jazz star added that when people are being critical of him, it means he’s doing something right.
“I’m just gonna keep trying to be the best Rudy I can be, on and off the court,” Gobert said. “And for my team. The more these people try to discredit what I do or what my team does, it just means we’re doing something right.”
Rudy Gobert @rudygobert27 responds to Draymond Green’s @Money23Green multiple negative comments about him saying, “It’s just noise to me.”
Gobert added something of a personal dig toward the Warriors star, implying that Green’s criticism was just a lot of hot air and that he was looking for attention.
“If anything, the more noise, the harder it becomes to take these people seriously,” Gobert said. “It’s unfortunate that when you have that big a platform, you use it to entertain a crowd. It doesn’t make anyone good to talk down to someone else. When you’re great at what you do, you don’t need to talk down to anybody — the world will recognize you for who you are and what you do. That’s my mindset. It’s just noise. I can’t control it.”
Green Nearing Return
The dig toward Gobert wasn’t the only headline-grabbing remark from Green during the All-Star Game broadcast. Green has missed the last 22 games with a back injury that had initially been diagnosed as a calf injury, but revealed on TNT his return is now in sight.
“Hopefully three to four weeks,” Green said during the February 20 broadcast. “That’s what I’m shooting for.”
sounds like Draymond Green is hoping to return to the Warriors in 3-4 weeks
Though the exact timeframe for Green’s return remains murky, teammate Steph Curry isn’t trying to rush him back. Curry noted that the team has managed without their big man and defensive anchor over the last 22 games, a stretch in which they’ve gone 13-8.
“It’s like every injury,” Curry said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “A little different with a floating target of when he’ll be back. It doesn’t necessarily change how we tried to get past these last 20-something games without him and what this hopefully small segment will be until he does come back.”
READ NEXT: Steph Curry Gets Honest About His Long-Term Future With the Warriors