9 Years Following Game 4 Altercation, LeBron James-Draymond Green Profanity Laced Beef Revealed

Joseph Galizia | 22/07/2025
Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) exchanges words with Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) during the fourth quarter in game four of the NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena. The Warriors won 108-97.

The 2016 Finals is one of the most historic series in NBA history due to the intensity of the Cavaliers and Warriors rivalry. In Game 4, that tension boiled over when Draymond Green and LeBron James got into a scuffle that resulted in Green being suspended for Game 5. But what did the two actually say to each other?

The Dubs won Game 4 108-97 and had a comfortable 3-1 series lead over the Cavs. At that point, no team in NBA history had EVER come back from that game count in a Finals series. But the Draymond and LBJ scuffle sort of changed the tide, especially due to the severity of what they screamed at one another.

James and Green needed to be separated after a double-technical foul in the 4th quarter. The Warriors legend was trying to set a screen on LeBron, but Bron pushed and walked over him. Draymond responded by swinging back, which left both men pretty heated. Moments later, things would escalate even further.

Both superstars were going for a rebound and fighting for position, yet refused to break contact with one another. Dray and LBJ started jaw-jacking and had to be separated by their teammates. Now, an exchange of what they shouted at each other has been revealed via X (fka as Twitter).

LeBron: “Don’t walk into me.”

Green: “You a b*tch.”

LeBron: “Don’t call me no b*tch.”

Green: “Right, right.”

LeBron: “Don’t call me no b*tch, n****.”

LeBron would get the last laugh. He and his teammate, Kyrie Irving, took full advantage of Draymond’s absence from Game 5. The dynamic duo both dropped 41 points, and the Cavs would win 112-97.

Even after Green came back, it didn’t matter. Cleveland had the momentum, and two games later, they would hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy in Golden State after shocking the world by becoming the first team to overcome a 3-1 deficit.

Green and James have since grown as friends, but that doesn’t mean Draymond has forgotten the moment. “I can’t promise you that I wouldn’t react the same way, but what I do know is I think LeBron coaxed me into that,” Green said in an old interview. “And I know for sure today he couldn’t coax me into that.”

But where Green has grown is that he knows he got what he deserved. “I had to come to terms with in the end, I got what I deserved because I let my emotions get the best of me. I responded in a way to something that I shouldn’t respond to like that at that moment.”

Still, saying that you would be better after the moment has already come and gone won’t give the Dubs another title. Doesn’t matter. They would win the next year, and the year after that, sending Bron and Kyrie home with only 1 ring in 4 meetings.

It is wild that one of the most prolific NBA Championship series of the last decade occurred almost a decade ago, and both Draymond and LeBron are still giving it their all. Both men are in search of that prestigious fifth ring.

Will either find it in the 2025-2026 season? Who knows? But wouldn’t it be fitting if they had to go through each other to find it?

Post Edited By: Afnan Chougle
2016 NBA Finals Draymond Green LeBron James

About the author

Joseph Galizia

Joseph is a Las Vegas based actor and circus performer. For the last seven years he's had the pleasure of covering sports for multiple outlets, including the Lifestyles section of Sports Illustrated. In that time, he's conducted over 50 interviews with athletes, filmmakers, and company founders to further cement his footprint in the journalism world. He's excited to bring that skillset to the SportsRush, where he'll be covering the NBA news cycle.

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