Draymond Green is a study in contradictions. He’s one of the highest-IQ players in the modern NBA, without whose defense, playmaking, and leadership, the Golden State Warriors would not have won four rings. Then again, he has also done unimaginably impulsive things in his career at times, which often became detrimental to the Warriors’ cause.
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Draymond is constantly pushing the boundaries of what he can get away with, whether it’s with his physical defense or his persistent attacks on the refs. This is why he’s always at or near the top of the technical foul leaderboard each year.
His most well-known on-court bad behavior occurred in the 2016 NBA Finals. In Game 4 of that series, he infamously kicked LeBron James, a move that got him suspended for Game 5. That paved the way for LeBron and the Cavs to erase a 3-1 deficit and steal the title, ruining the Warriors’ 73-9 season.
Draymond appeared on Kai Cenat’s Livestream on Tuesday, where he was asked if he regretted that incident. “F*** no,” he replied in no uncertain terms.
“If you fall down and you’re getting up, and I put my leg on top of your shoulder, what are you going to do? I will never regret that. I wouldn’t want my son to think that if somebody does that to him, it’s OK,” added Green, who then doubled down on his take in a confusing manner.
“Respect in this thing that we do, obviously, money is important, but the next thing is respect,” added Dray. “You know why it’s respect? What’s legacy? Legacy is respect.”
Warriors fans who watched this podcast must have been shaking their heads. How can he not regret doing something that directly led to one of the greatest team seasons in NBA history being ruined?
Plenty of disrespectful things occur in every single NBA game. The only difference is that most players don’t put their own pride ahead of the team’s goals.
Draymond is going to leave a legacy that will eventually see him inducted into the Hall of Fame. But that legacy will also include the black mark that he did something that cost his team a title.
Would the Warriors have achieved so much success without him? Definitely not. Is there a way he could have controlled himself a bit better to get one more ring? Absolutely.
Of course, we’ll never know the butterfly effect of what would have happened if Draymond hadn’t kicked LeBron and changed the course of history. Maybe LeBron and Kyrie Irving would have led the Cavs back anyway. After all, they did beat the Warriors in Games 6 and 7 when they were at full strength with Draymond back.
Maybe the Warriors would have won it all. But then Kevin Durant may not have signed with them in free agency. That could have possibly led to them not winning the 2017 and ’18 titles. These things are impossible to say.
At the end of the day, Draymond should be proud of the role he’s played in helping the Dubs achieve so much. Part of what makes him such an impactful player is that little bit of wildness and unpredictability. So, Warriors fans just have to accept the good with the bad, even if it drives them crazy.
