Draymond Green made his much-awaited return against the Memphis Grizzlies last night. With the Memphis-Golden State rivalry being in full swing, it’s no surprise that the fans booed Green on his first day back.
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During the recent episode of his podcast (The Draymond Green Show), Draymond talked about his experience playing the Grizzlies on his first day back. Talking to his co-host, Draymond said,
” It’s crazy that the Memphis fans hate me so much be that they wanted me in free agency. It would have been really funny if I ended up in Memphis. I just wonder what the reception would have been.”
But for Draymond, it’s all love towards the Memphis fan base. Commenting on the love-hate relationship between the two, Draymond further added,
“They hate me there and to be honest, I love it and I love them. I love that they love to hate me…..I think their fans are hilarious….and it’s always a good time.”
Draymond did acknowledge that things went too far on one occasion. During Game 2 of The Western Conference Semi-finals, Green would find himself on the receiving end of Xavier Tilman’s blow. The impact caused Draymond to get a huge gash above his eye. As Green was walking off the court( to get the cut closed), Memphis fans decided to further boo the four-time Champion, leading to Draymond retaliating, showing the home crowd a ‘double birdie’.
Last year, when the 4x champion entered the free agency, Grizzlies were one of the teams interested in signing him. However, Green ended up signing a new 2-year deal with the Warriors.
Draymond Green is a villain in Memphis
It’s no secret that Draymond Green is the ‘enforcer’ of the Dubs. But the veteran power forward has often crossed the line while carrying out his duties, and the same has even taken place in Memphis.
Draymond’s villain arc in Memphis first began when he hit Brandon Clark across the face during Game 1 of the 2022 Western Conference Semi-final. Both the teams had been getting chirpy online before the matchup, and Draymond decided to set the tone from the get.
Even though Draymond would be ejected from the game, The Warriors would bully the young Grizzlies the entire series, finishing the match up in just 6 games.
But this wouldn’t be the end of Draymond’s shenanigans, as just a year prior, Green would find himself tangled up with a sprinting Ja Morant, resulting in the youngster being struck across the face.
