The Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green was back on his on-court antics again, this time against his favorite team, the Memphis Grizzlies.
Early in the Warriors' blowout win over the Grizzlies on Wednesday, Green contested Santi Aldama’s layup attempt. Aldama wasn’t too pleased with Green’s physicality and bumped into him, which led Green to retaliate. After some very brief contact between them, Green grabbed Aldama's jersey around the chest area and warned him with a “Don't do that” before pushing him away and quickly returning to the other end of the court.
Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins spoke to the referees during the next stoppage of play, appearing to urge them to penalize Green for the physical altercation. Green stood nearby to eavesdrop on the conversation, then Memphis star Desmond Bane came in to move him aside.
Amid the escalating situation, Green pushed Bane's hands off him in self-defense, which intensified the physical altercation and prompted both the Warriors and Grizzlies to empty their benches. As tensions grew, Green was pushed into Jenkins, causing the Grizzlies' head coach to fall to the floor.
Draymond Green vs. Santi Aldama & Desmond Bane. 👀
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) March 21, 2024
After video review, both Green and Bane were slapped with technical fouls for their roles in the incident. The Warriors capitalized on this heated moment, using it as motivation for a 17-0 scoring streak en route to a 137-116 win over Memphis. Green contributed 10 points, 12 rebounds and seven assist, one of seven Golden State players to score in double-figures.
Draymond Green reacts to Grizzlies scuffle
Green reacted to the scuffle on The Draymond Green Show, calling out Jenkins for an alleged “dive.”
“Taylor Jenkins took a dive, and Taylor Jenkins milked it, and I could not believe that he milked it like that,” Green said. “He's walking, he's laying on the court milking it, their trainer comes up to him, and one of our players.
“I'm not going to name the player because it's pretty irrelevant to name the player. But he's walking back to our bench, and the trainer asks Taylor Jenkins like, you okay? Like, what's going on? He's like, ‘I'm okay, I'm okay,' like trying to milk it.
“And that to me is absolutely insane,” Green continued. “I told y'all it be players like trying stuff and I know they be trying to get me kicked out of the game, which to me is kind of like, it says a lot about you as I said before.
“So I see that all the time, but like a coach like taking a dive and then milking it is crazy. You cannot milk it that long and then get up and like coach the rest of the game intensely. You got to go to the locker room for a second or something bro.”
In comparison to some of Green's past behavior, this incident was relatively tame. However, the NBA closely monitors Green due to his past actions. Throughout his career, Green has been suspended six times, resulting in a total of 25 games missed.
Earlier in the season, Green served a suspension for choking Rudy Gobert, and he was subsequently suspended again and required to attend counseling after striking Jusuf Nurkic in the face.
The Warriors aim to climb as high as No. 6 or maintain their current No. 10 seed in the tight playoff race of the Western Conference. Green's presence is vital for their upward trajectory.
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