The stellar series between the Warriors and the Kings came to an end on Sunday after the defending champs beat the Sacramento team 120-100 in their backyard. This game brought the series to a full circle as Games 1 and 2 ended in Golden 1 Center with Kings as the winners and Golden State being left with a suspended Draymond Green.
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An incident that started when 7ft 1 inch tall Domantas Sabonis grabbed a frustrated Green’s legs late in Game 2, ended with the 4x champ stomping the big man on his chest. It didn’t just get Green a flagrant 2 and immediate ejection, it kept him out of Game 3.
The rest of the series had them both going all-in against each other, all in competitive spirit with no one crossing any boundaries anymore. However, after the Warriors eliminated them, the Lithuanian didn’t shake any of the opposition player’s hands.
Draymond Green addresses Domantas Sabonis snubbing handshake with Warriors players
In the latest drop of the podcast The Draymond Green Show, the Warriors forward started by mocking the Kings and expressing his happiness to be on the side that lit the beam last night.
He then addressed Sabonis probably for the last time this season, for going into the locker room after the loss without shaking hands.
“You [Domatas Sabonis] don’t shake guys’ hands after you lose, I don’t respect that,” started Draymond and went on to tell his own story of how he, in 2016, left the court after losing the championship to the Cavaliers but came back to embrace his opponents.
Despite losing one of their main protagonists, Stephen Curry and Co won Game 3, and the next one to level the series. They even won Game 5 on the road while they were at it.
They had to do a lot to win this series, much more than any series in their championship run last season. Just to respect that Green should have just left it at praising the Kings players he liked.
Did Sabonis do wrong in not embracing guys who stomped his chest and also gave him a black eye?
Few would say yes considering those guys also snatched his dream of leading his team deep into the playoffs after a wonderful season. The elbow by Kevon Looney to Domantas’ eye also looked avoidable.
And although the series was even with both sides being equally fair or unfair to each other in a few moments, the Warriors did come out victorious. So, Green could have let this slide and left it to just appreciating the rest of the Kings players.
Sabonis would anyway be punished by the internet if he was wrong, fans spare nobody.
