On Wednesday, the Golden State Warriors beat the Orlando Magic 101-93 to stay in 10th place in the Western Conference standings and remain one game clear of the Houston Rockets in the race for the final play-in tournament spot. However, veteran forward Draymond Green‘s shenanigans overshadowed their impressive win. Less than four minutes into the game, he got into an argument with referee Ray Acosta, who charged him with two technical fouls in quick succession to end his night.
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Green’s fourth ejection of the season prompted criticism from fans and analysts alike, but few were as vicious in their censure of the Warriors star than Fox Sports analyst Skip Bayless. He called out Green with on X, formerly called Twitter, writing,
“Draymond Green: Most beloved villain ever. Nicest cheap-shot artist ever. No NBA player has ever committed more dirty plays, yet no NBA player with such ordinary career stats (9/7/6) has been nearly as popular as a podcaster and TNT commentator.”
Bayless was also critical of the Warriors star on Thursday’s episode of Undisputed. He said,
“Draymond has had a long, long history of cheap shots in this league. You could make a case that he is the dirtiest player to ever play in the NBA.”
Green’s behavior on the court has bordered on despicable in the past, but his unsportsmanlike shenanigans have ascended to an unprecedented level this season. He was suspended for five games for choking out Minnesota Timberwolves’ Rudy Gobert, who was trying to break a fight between Klay Thompson and Jaden McDaniels. He then received an indefinite suspension, which eventually lasted 16 games, for swinging his arm and punching Phoenix Suns center, Jusuf Nurkic.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver ordered Green to take anger management classes during his suspension, but it doesn’t seem like they have helped. The Warriors veteran continues to make headlines for the wrong reasons, only giving analysts like Bayless more ammunition to critique his character.
Fans side with Skip Bayless’ assessment of Draymond Green
Bayless, a notoriously harsh critic of Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James, is well-versed in being the villain. His opinion often splits public opinion, but fans on social media are on board with his take on Draymond Green following his latest ejection. In the replies to his post calling out the Warriors star, fans are siding with the veteran analyst.
However, not everyone sided with Bayless. A couple of fans suggested the analyst was jealous of Green’s popularity and success as a podcaster.
Draymond Green isn’t one to shy away from a confrontation and will likely respond to Bayless’ scathing indictment in due course. However, the Warriors would prefer him picking fights on his podcast rather than on the court against opponents and referees, jeopardizing his team.
