If there's one player in the NBA who fans are not surprised by them picking up a flagrant foul, it's Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green. Green has managed only two flagrant fouls this season, but he picked up another one on Sunday during the Warriors' game against the Houston Rockets.
However, the flagrant foul that Draymond Green picked up during the Warriors' game against the Rockets was probably his most controversial one yet in terms of whether or not it was actually flagrant worthy.
The play came early in the third quarter with the Warriors trailing the Rockets. Moses Moody drove into the lane, saw Green lurking along the baseline, and hit him with a perfect pass. Green went up for a shot at the rim with Rockets big man Alperen Sengun contesting it. Green seemingly unavoidably hit Sengun in the face as he went up for the shot. There appeared to be no ill intent, but the officials saw otherwise.
Predictably, social media lit up with reactions from fans following Green's third flagrant foul of the season. A few fans pointed out Sengun's proximity to the restricted area and wonder whether that should have been a blocking foul instead.
That’s bad defending. Offense has right of way especially when Seguin is inside restricted area. Terrible call, worse defense. And I’m a Cavs fan.
— Silver Surfer (@CRSlowey9) April 7, 2025
Wasn’t even a foul he was in the restricted area Sengun acting
— Jenny (@rebelpbelieve) April 7, 2025
Others wondered if there wasn't a little flopping involved on Sengun's part to sell the contact.
Article Continues BelowIf that’s a flagrant I’m giving a standing ovation when Sengun’s calf jiggles on a launch step
— ggCoder (@ggCoder) April 7, 2025
Sangun flopped hard for that one
— Khun Kru (@Khru) April 7, 2025
And yet there were some who took Sengun's side and felt like the contract from Green was a foul even if it wasn't intentional.
That’s a foul! I don’t think it matters if Draymond intentionally meant to hit him or not. Fans need to be mad at the NBA not the refs.
— Pierre Joseph (@Foreignking1k) April 7, 2025
The NBA obviously has jurisdiction to downgrade Green's foul from a flagrant, and it remains to be seen whether or not the league office agrees with the call or not. But as Green has run afoul of the officials in recent seasons, he has been a key part of the Warriors' turnaround since the Jimmy Butler trade.
Green has seen a recent surge in support for the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year award. He's appeared in 63 games this season, at a little over 29 minutes per game. He's been averaging 9.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.0 blocked shots with splits of 42.7 percent shooting from the field, 31.6 percent shooting from the three-point line and 68.1 percent shooting from the free-throw line.