“When did they become so above the law that you can’t say boom?”
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A very composed Draymond Green let his thoughts out after the Warriors-Grizzlies encounter at the Chase Center tonight. Despite picking up a win in a game where they were without Stephen Curry and Jonathan Kuminga had to leave mid-way, Green wasn’t too ecstatic. Instead, he was troubled by the kind of officiating that the Warriors were subjected to.
Taking on the Grizzlies, Dray was matched up against Zach Edey again at the 5. While Green did his best to hold his ground, the size difference clearly played a part. Early in the 4th quarter, Green and Edey went up for a rebound, with Edey easily securing it. However, Dray tried to swipe the ball away and ended up fouling him.
Despite no contact to Edey’s head or neck area, Green was awarded a Flagrant 1. The call left Green fuming. He calmed himself, went on the other end, and nailed a 3-pointer. As usual, he celebrated it by yelling “BOOM!” This time though, the referee thought it was directed at him, and quickly assessed Green a tech for celebrating his made bucket.
Draymond received a technical foul for taunting the ref after making a 3-pointer pic.twitter.com/z5B1Wvd7JU
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) January 5, 2025
Unhappy with the officiating, Green spoke about it in his post-game interview. He was asked if there was any explanation on what the Flagrant foul was for. “Uh, no. But, it’s Draymond Green,” said Green, highlighting the referees’ bias against him. He then brought up how Kuminga was elbowed in the head, but no review, but if Green as much as blows air on someone, it gets reviewed.
When asked about him yelling surprise, surprise, Green said, “Who’s surprised? It was sarcastic. I got a tech for saying boom. I say boom every time I make a three… When did they become so above the law that you can’t say boom?”
Draymond Green asked about Zach Edey: “He play in the NBA.” Asked about his skill set: “He play in the NBA.”
On his technical: “When did (the referees) become so above the law that you can’t say ‘Boom!’” pic.twitter.com/dKtiWHzjsY
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) January 5, 2025
When asked if this foul call might get rescinded, Green snarkily said, “If I hold my breath, I’ll die.”
Whilst Green has had his fair share of mishaps on the court, the bias against him is strong. It certainly feels like he gets officiated differently as compared to other players. To make matters worse, there was no pool report by the referees tonight. It would be interesting to see if the NBA looks into this, and whether they take some call on this.
