Getty Jusuf Nurkic
Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic received the full brunt of Draymond Green’s fist when Green clocked him during the Suns game against the Golden State Warriors. An action that immediately ejected Green from the game.
Draymond Green was given a foul after striking Jusuf Nurkic in the face 😳
The play is currently under review for a flagrant foul.
During Nurkic’s postgame press conference, Nurkic managed to crack a joke but also made it clear he didn’t believe Green’s punch had bad intentions.
Jusuf Nurkic on the Draymond Green Flagrant 2: “What’s going on with him, I don’t know. Personally, I feel like that brother needs help. I’m glad he didn’t try to choke me.”
“What’s going on with him, I don’t know. Personally, I feel like that brother needs help. I’m glad he didn’t try to choke me. At the same time, that had nothing to do with basketball. I’m just out there trying to play basketball, and they’re swinging… Hopefully, whatever he got in his life will get better,” Nurkic told reporters per PHNX SUNS’ X account.
While Green was ejected, Nurkic was okay and finished the game. With or without Green, the Suns beating the Warriors could pay dividends in the long run this season.
Draymond Green Apologizes to Jusuf Nurkic
During Draymond Green’s postgame press conference, he explained his side of things while also apologizing to Jusuf Nurkic.
“He was pulling my hip, and I was swinging away to sell the call,” Green said, per House of Highlights’ YouTube channel. “I made contact with him. As you know, I’m not one to apologize for things I meant to do, but I do apologize to Jusuf because I didn’t intend to hit him. I sell calls with my arms. I don’t fall to sell a call. I’m not a flopper.”
Green emphasized that while the play may not have looked good, he knows that what he did was not on purpose.
“A replay is never gonna look good, but I know my intentions, and my intentions were to sell the call. I also don’t think I’m an accurate enough puncher to do a full 360 and connect with someone. It’s unfortunate.”
Unfortunately for Green, he already has a reputation for getting into altercations. He was suspended earlier in the 2023-24 season for putting Rudy Gobert into a headlock.
If a punch is thrown, intentional or not, it usually results in a suspension. Green can defend himself all he wants, but like he even mentioned, the replay did not look good.
Jusuf Nurkic Explains Why He Didn’t Retaliate
During his postgame press conference, Jusuf Nurkic explained why he opted not to get back at Green.
“I learned in this league when you respond to some shit like that, you’re getting fined. So you’re getting the penalties … I’m too valuable for this team to get in foul trouble or getting techs or getting kicked out.” Jusuf Nurkic on Draymond Green incident. #Suns #DubNation
“I learned in this league when you respond to some s*** like that, you’re getting fined. So you’re getting the penalties, which is unfair, but at the same time, I’m too valuable for this team to get in foul trouble or getting techs or getting kicked out. So I gotta stay mentally okay because it’s better for the team to stay on the floor,” Nurkic told reporters, per The Arizona Republic’s Duane Rankin’s X account.
What Nurkic says is ultimately true. If he had tried to throw a punch at Green in retaliation, he would have been thrown out too. Nurkic isn’t the all-star Green is, but he is vital to what the Suns want to accomplish as their best center.
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Suns’ Jusuf Nurkic Gets Real About Draymond Green Punch