Draymond Green has been balling ever since his return from suspension. Last night, the Warriors star faced one of the bigger challenges since his return: facing the man whom he’d hit back in December. As one expected, there were sparks flying all throughout the game, with some of them carrying over to the post game comments. Jusuf Nurkic did not shy away from talking to the media about how he felt Draymond is still keeping up with his destructive behavior.
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“It’s sad. He didn’t learn anything. Just a matter of time. He’s going to hit somebody else again. Take back everything I said. He don’t deserve a chance.”
“It’s sad. He didn’t learn anything. Just a matter of time. He’s going to hit somebody else again. Take back everything I said. He don’t deserve a chance.”
Jusuf Nurkic on Draymond Green, who got suspended after hitting him in face Dec. 12.
“Antics. Try to hit people.” #Suns pic.twitter.com/fEF2hLJuyS
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) February 11, 2024
While Nurkic said what he did, the fans weren’t in agreement. Seeing how Draymond clearly outplayed the Bosnian Beast tonight, they called him out for being a sore loser. Nurk tried to instigate Green, but clearly failed at the same. Not only did Green win their individual matchup, but he also helped the Dubs steal the game.
During his post-game conference, Draymond was asked about Nurkic’s comments. There, he said,
“If he wants me to walk around quiet like him I’m never gonna do that. Quiet guys don’t win.”
Draymond responds to Nurkić’s postgame comments saying the Warriors star didn’t learn anything from his suspension ⬇ pic.twitter.com/DAPCArHlMG
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) February 11, 2024
Clearly, Green wasn’t too happy about Nurk’s comments, but he kept his calm and composure in front of the cameras. However, once he got home, Green would have taken another look at the comments, and it was then that he took to his Instagram story and called the Suns big out.
“What did I do to not deserve a chance? Severely outplay you?”
Dray responds via IG: “What did I do to not deserve a chance? Severely outplay you?” https://t.co/hCZFaidwht pic.twitter.com/btKtxWUMqT
— TheWarriorsTalk (@TheWarriorsTalk) February 11, 2024
Seeing how DG brought up his show, we might get an episode later today or perhaps tomorrow, where he talks about Nurkic and his comments. In fact, Green also tagged Shaquille O’Neal and The Big Podcast by Shaq. Shaq had already once voiced his displeasure about how Nurkic made his comments about Green back in December.
We’ll have to see what Draymond and Shaq have to say about the incident. While Shaq is busy with his Super Bowl events in Las Vegas, Draymond might respond to the Suns big before the big game today.
Stephen Curry and Other Back Draymond Green
After the game, Draymond Green wasn’t the only one who got to know about what Jusuf Nurkic said. During his post-game comments, Stephen Curry called Nurk’s comments ‘idiotic.’
“Draymond was in his head. Plain and simple.”
Steph believes Draymond did an excellent job walking the line tonight, calling Nurkić’s comments “idiotic” pic.twitter.com/NgEYCCCOJY
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) February 11, 2024
Steph clearly appreciated how Green played. Not only did he avoid getting instigated by the Suns big, but he also kept calm and found his chances to attack the Suns defense. His 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 9 assists clearly reflected the same.
Along with Curry, former Warrior Juan-Tuscano Anderson stood up for Green as well. He called out Nurk for sounding ‘weak’ with his ‘dog eats dog world’ comment.
It’s a ‘dog eat dog’ world Nurk https://t.co/ivr28x9UTm
— Juan Toscano Anderson (@juanonjuan10) February 11, 2024
Even NFL legend Terrell Owens didn’t hold back from commenting on the same.
“Stop dude!! Did you really think Draymond was gonna just let you do what you wanted to and not play like Draymond? You instigated the physical play and you got served. He outsmarted you.”
TO chimes in… https://t.co/k7IoCyp89D pic.twitter.com/B8jUwL28NY
— warriorsworld (@warriorsworld) February 11, 2024
Unlike last time, Jusuf Nurkic’s comments this time have come to bite him back. Last time, Draymond Green was actually at fault, and he admitted the same. However, this time it was Nurk who instigated the situation, and when he received some trash talk in return, he couldn’t handle it. What would be interesting now is whether Shaquille O’Neal chooses to react to the same. So far, there has been no response on his Instagram. However, we might get to hear a soundbite on TNT or the next episode of Big Podcast.