There was a rather contentious moment in Game 2 of the NBA Finals as Draymond Green was called for a foul on Jaylen Brown attempting a 3-point shot.

With the Golden State Warriors forward already harboring a technical foul, he got into it with Brown while both of them were sprawled on the floor. In the end, neither one were given technical fouls:

Draymond Green is no stranger to some extracurricular incidents during the NBA Finals. He famously drew a suspension in 2016, which is considered a huge reason why LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers were able to come back from a 3-1 deficit. That's why the call carried so much weight in that without Green, Golden State could have a harder time preventing a 0-2 hole before going to Boston.

But the controversy stemmed from the ESPN broadcast booth as Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson both questioned NBA referee consultant Steve Javie about how a ref would deliberate such a play. He responded by explaining how they use “selective enforcement” at times for such situations:

“The two guys were going after each other. … You have to consider one player has definitely a technical foul. Is this enough to call a double T and eject the one player? Personally, I would say nothing and just let it defuse as that,” said Javie during the NBA Finals broadcast.

Jackson followed up by asking whether NBA referees actively consider the fact that a player, in this case Draymond Green, already has a technical foul:

“Absolutely,” answered Javie. “I think that's part of good officiating is the fact that you have to know who has the technical fouls — and in this situation, one of the players does. Is this enough to warrant an ejection is what you have to think about.”

Related NewsArticle continues below
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr celebrates with guard Stephen Curry (30) after their team defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center.
Steve Kerr compares Stephen Curry partnership to this legendary duo
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr looks on against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second half during game five of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Target Center.
Warriors’ Steve Kerr teases future plans heading into contract season

The response was a surprising one, to say the least. With an NBA Finals on the line, fans were left perplexed over the admission and the situational treatment referees supposedly use when deliberating such a review:

Safe to say this won't be the last time that discussion and subsequent admission by Steve Javie will be brought up, both in the Twitterverse as well as in potential NBA games to come.