“Cheap Shot Guy”: Kobe Bryant’s Former Teammate Points Out Draymond Green’s Tendency to Target European Players

Draymond Green has recently been garnering much flak because of his aggressive defensive strategies against opponent players. Just days after choke-holding Minnesota Timberwolves’ Rudy Gobert, Green again made headlines recently for taking a wild swing at Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic during a Suns-Warriors game. Green was immediately ejected from the game, which eventually ended in a 119-116 loss for the Golden State Warriors.

It’s interesting to note that Green’s recent aggressions against opponents on the floor have mostly been against foreign players coincidentally. Both Gobert and Nurkic are Europeans, which has prompted some people to find patterns in Green’s actions.

Kobe Bryant’s former teammate, Nick Young, also reacted to this incident from the last game and observed this pattern in the Warriors forward. During an appearance on The Undisputed, Young referred to Green as a ‘cheap shot guy’ and called him out for his aggressive tactics.

“He’s [Green] more of a cheap shot guy, but he tends to do that to a lot of Europeans. He messing with nothing but foreigners. I understand people don’t like Gobert, the most unlikable guy, but you don’t run in there and grab somebody by they neck,” Young told Bayless.

The 33-year-old, however, seemed apologetic for his actions and claimed that it wasn’t his intention to hit the Suns center. In his statement to the media, Green said, “He was pulling my hip, and I was swinging away to sell the call. I made contact with him. As you know, I’m not one to apologize for things I meant to do, but I do apologize to Jusuf because I didn’t intend to hit him.” 

Previously, Green served a 5-game ban for his incident with Rudy Gobert in the game with the Grizzlies. However, whether he can escape further punishment from the NBA for this incident seems unclear at this time.

Draymond Green has a history of altercations with foreign players in the league

Nick Young’s statement might hold, given Draymond Green’s history of altercations with foreign players. Just a month back, Green served an immediate ejection and a 5-game ban for choking Rudy Gobert by the neck during a game against the Timberwolves, earning a flagrant 2 foul and an immediate ejection.

This isn’t just the only instance of Green’s altercation with foreign players. During the 2016 Western Conference Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Green had earned much criticism for kicking New Zealand player Steven Adams in the groin in Game 3 of the series.

This latest altercation with Jusuf Nurkic would be Green’s second incident this season and the third in the past 30 games since last year’s playoff incident. It seems likely that the NBA might come up with some strict repercussions against the Warriors star as this contention progresses further.