Draymond Green has been known to get under his opponent's skin from time to time. Throughout Green's 13-year NBA career, all with the Golden State Warriors, he's been labeled as an instigator, an agitator, and at times a dirty player.
And despite Green's animated style of play, he's a winner above all else. Green's all-round play, bringing intensity on seemingly every play, especially on the defensive end, has contributed to all four of the Warriors NBA titles during their most recent dynasty.
Green, 35, continues to bring an antagonizing style of basketball to the 2025 NBA playoffs. Through nine games in this year's playoffs, Green has racked up five technical fouls and two flagrant fouls. His latest technical stemmed from an elbow thrown in the direction of Naz Reid during the Warriors Game 2, 117-93 loss, to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Green, who feels he's being unfairly stereotyped as "an angry black man", made a concise, powerful statement in response to this narrative following Thursday's game.
Draymond Green just wanted to give one quick postgame statement: “The agenda to continue to keep making me look like an angry black man is crazy. I’m sick of it. It’s ridiculous.” pic.twitter.com/ay7TLFhjWL
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) May 9, 2025“I’m not an angry black man. I'm a very successful, educated black man with a great family, and I’m great at basketball, I’m great at what I do. The agenda to try to keep making me look like an angry black man is crazy. I’m sick of it. It’s ridiculous,” Green said in the locker room following Game 2.
Warriors reporter for The Athletic, Anthony Slater, posted this video to his official X account (@anthonyvslater).
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) looks on against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second half during game two of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn ImagesThursday night's incident had Green enraged, yelling at the referees for being imposed a technical foul. Head coach, Steve Kerr removed Green from the game, and he'd remain on the bench for approximately six minutes of game action before returning to the floor.
Green now sits either two technical fouls or two flagrant fouls away from receiving a one-game suspension in this year's playoffs.
Related: Draymond Green Bracing for Punishment Over Altercation in Warriors-Timberwolves Game 2
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