Draymond Green has always been one of the most controversial players in the league, especially given his history of dirty plays. In Game 2 of the Golden Warriors series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Green picked up his fifth technical foul of the playoffs after elbowing Naz Reid, and is now on the verge of being suspended. After the game, he talked about how there is an agenda against him. Is he right? However, Draymond’s history of dirty plays should disprove his claims. Let’s take a look at five times when Green made a play that gave him a reputation for being a dirty player.
Draymond Green:
“I’m not an angry black man… I’m great at basketball, I’m great at what I do…the agenda of trying to make me look like an angry black man is crazy. I’m sick of it. It’s ridiculous.”
(via @anthonyVslater)pic.twitter.com/0oRh5wSh4k
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) May 9, 2025
5 Times Draymond Green Proved He is a Dirty Player
Kicking Steven Adams in the Groin
In Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Warriors, Draymond infamously kicked Steven Adams in the groin. In the next round, in the Finals, Draymond made a foul on LeBron and cost the Warriors the Finals.
But let’s go back to the moment he kicked Adams in the groin. The play happened midway through the second quarter. Green was trying to drive to the paint, and during a shot, he unintentionally kicked Adams while trying to shoot. Draymond received a flagrant foul 1, which was upgraded to a flagrant 2, and he was fined.
That is not even the worst part. It was the second time in the series that Green hit Adams. He did it before with a knee in Game 2. This is one of the reasons why Draymond is not liked in Oklahoma City. At the time, Green said he wasn’t trying to hurt Adams, but that he was following through on a shot.
Catching James Harden By the Throat
In the 2018 playoffs, Green got a technical foul just a minute into Game 1 of the series against the Houston Rockets. After James Harden scored a basket, Green caught him by the throat while trying to inbound the ball.
After the foul, Green spent a lot of time arguing and complaining about the call. It was a clear, flagrant foul, and he was lucky they didn’t toss him out of the game.
Dangerous Foul on Kawhi Leonard
Draymond Green gets credit for playing hard-nosed, get-in-your-face defense, but sometimes, he commits way too many dirty plays. For example, in 2021 when he grabbed Kawhi Leonard. Draymond wrapped his fingers around Leonard’s arms and then pulled him in the opposite direction. It was a completely unnecessary foul. Draymond would say he was trying to interrupt the shot attempt, but the foul was more dangerous and could have easily resulted in an injury. He received a flagrant foul for this play.
Draymond Chokes Rudy Gobert
In November 2023, Jaden McDaniels and Klay Thompson got into an altercation early in the game. As Rudy Gobert defended his teammate, Draymond came out of nowhere and put him in a headlock. Green and Gobert have a long-standing beef, and he pounced on a chance to make a play against him. Undoubtedly, this is one of the more controversial and dirty Draymond plays. He was suspended for five games after this infamous cheap shot.
Draymond Green Hits Jusuf Nurkic
This is one of the most recent dirty plays by Draymond Green. It happened last year, and Green was suspended indefinitely after the play. He had to go through therapy. The suspension ended up lasting three weeks, and he missed 12 games due to it.
According to SportsRadar, Draymond has a total of 202 technical fouls throughout his career. At least one-fifth of those were dangerous plays and out-of-line plays. He already has five technical fouls in the playoffs. If he continues with this type of play, he will surely be suspended. And the Warriors right now cannot afford that, especially with Steph Curry being out.
The Jusuf Nurkic incident is probably the worst of all. As Jusuf was defending Draymond, the Warriors forward hit him with a punch in the head. You might say this is a type of behavior you can expect from teenagers. But he is a 30-year-old man. So, while he can talk about the agenda all day long, the reality is that Draymond Green is no stranger to dirty plays.
Featured image: © Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
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