Getty Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green looks on from the scorer's table during Game 6 of the 2022 NBA Finals.
Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green has been headline fodder since before the 2022-23 season even began. Thanks to his now-infamous scuffle with teammate Jordan Poole, the hoops intelligentsia have been discussing his place (and his future) with the Dubs ad nauseam for five-plus weeks now.
And, whether it’s truly earned/deserved or not, some are laying at least partial credit for the Warriors’ surprisingly slow start at Green’s feet.
To be fair, when a public figure throws a punch at another, much-younger public figure and teammate — and does so without any real provocation — that person is going to be the subject of widespread criticism. Folks generally aren’t going to be interested in exploring the other side of it; in this case, what Green might have been going through that caused him to throw the punch.
Green later spoke about being “in a place of hurt” at the time of the incident. And given some of the things he has to endure in his job as an NBA player alone, it shouldn’t be shocking when chinks the armor show up.
Green Says He Was the Target of Racial Epithets During NBA Finals
While it may not be the source of whatever angst drove Green to physical violence –and we’re not looking excuse him for blowing up — his experience during the 2022 NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics is a prime example of the underreported perils of hoops stardom and how they can affect a person.
In an interview with Complex Sports‘ Pierce Simpson, Green revealed that he was targeted by some Celtics fans in ways that went way beyond garden-variety heckling.
“I was rattled,” Green said. “You hear boos, and I mean I’ve heard people screaming and yelling at me everywhere that I go. But I’ve never heard an entire gym, every time I touched the ball or I don’t have the ball, an entire gym [screaming] ‘F**k you Draymond.’ I thought that was cool, actually. That didn’t rattle me. But when I’m running down the court and it’s ‘b***h,’ it’s the n-word — those are insults at my character. Those are insults to me as a man.
“So you’re in this place where it’s like, ‘I really want to grab one of these people and wring their neck,’ but I’m going to lose that battle.”
As if that weren’t bad enough, the incidents are then downplayed and forgotten.
“And then to hear people say, ‘Oh, that’s just a part of the game.’ Y’all put a code of conduct up on the screen every night — that’s just a part of the game? Oh, it’s a part of the game because it’s me.”
Dubs Starting Five Receives High Marks
Much has been written and said about the disparity between the Warriors’ starting lineup and its struggling bench brigade. But there may be no bigger indictment on the second unit shortfall than this — despite the team’s 4-7 record and negative point differential entering Friday’s bout with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the team’s starting five still ranks among the elite units league-wide from a production standpoint.
Bleacher Reports‘ Andy Bailey just put out his ranking of all 30 of the league’s starting groups and the Warriors came in at No. 3 overall, a mark that stands to reason given their first team’s eye-popping net rating of 26.2.
Wrote Bailey:
If Stephen Curry continues to play like an MVP candidate (likely, given his last couple of years) and Andrew Wiggins and Kevon Looney keep filling all the gaps, this lineup could be the best in the league once Thompson and Green are up to speed.