Warriors’ Draymond Green breaks silence on recent ejection vs. Magic

After being ejected from Wednesday night’s game against the Magic, Warriors star Draymond Green took responsibility for his actions.

By

Brett Siegel

Draymond Green has never been afraid to let his emotions unleash on the basketball court. This has resulted in the Golden State Warriors forward receiving technical fouls, being ejected, and subsequently being suspended by the NBA at times. Already suspended and warned for what seemed like the final time earlier this season, Green was once again caught up in his own antics on Wednesday night against the Orlando Magic when he was ejected just minutes into the game.

The Warriors, who are fighting for their lives just to make the Western Conference Play-In Tournament at this juncture, entered Wednesday night’s game against the Magic after just defeating the Miami Heat 113-92 the night before. Less than four minutes into the game, Andrew Wiggins was defending and fouled Magic All-Star Paolo Banchero, giving the second-year forward an and-one opportunity at the free-throw line. Green took exception to this call by the official, as he immediately got in the face of Ray Acosta.

This led to Draymond picking up a technical foul, which sparked more discussion from the veteran. After head coach Steve Kerr took a timeout, Stephen Curry and Chris Paul both approached Green, who continued to jaw at Acosta. More and more players and Warriors staff walked over to Green to try and pull him away from the officials, who began walking away from the situation. While it is unknown what exactly Green said, it got the attention of the referees, who then sent the Warriors star to the locker room with his second technical foul.

Once again, Green let his emotions get the best of him, as he left the Warriors with a hole to fill in the middle of one of their most important games this season. For Kerr, he kept his message on Green’s ejection simple.

“Yeah, too bad. It was unfortunate,” Kerr stated. “He deserved it and he’ll bounce back. I’m just proud of the guys for stepping up.”

This recent ejection against the Magic also drew a stern reaction from Green on Thursday in a new episode of his podcast, The Draymond Green Show.

Draymond Green discusses ejection vs. Magic

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Green served a suspension earlier this season for his behavior on the court. Green also went through some counseling before returning to play for the Warriors. There was an understanding between all parties that Green needed to hold himself more accountable while on the court and that he needed to tone down the extracurricular activities with officials that he had been known for.

All of that went out the window on Wednesday night, as Green made it a point to get his argument across to the officials, leading to his eventual ejection from the game. Draymond spoke about his antics on Thursday during a recent episode of The Draymond Green Show, explaining what exactly happened.

“Just can’t do it, regardless of what was said. I’m not about to get into what was said, because that’s irrelevant. To Steph’s point, I have to be on the floor,” Green stated. “I look at this, I am not overreacting to this because of everything that happened in the beginning of the season. I feel like since I’ve returned, everything is heading in the right direction; hit a little bump in the road and keep going. I’m extremely grateful that my guys held me down. It was a very important game for us.”

The Warriors went on to win 101-93 against the Magic without Green, claiming back-to-back victories for the first time since February 29 and March 1. They remain one game ahead of the Houston Rockets for the 10-seed in the standings.

Green, who again left his team in disappointment with his behavior, owned up to his ejection and is staying optimistic for the remainder of the season.

“It just can’t happen. I said what I said and I deserved to get kicked out at that point. And what I said, if I am all the way honest with y’all, I tried to turn my body and go to the bench, and I said what I said a little too soon before angling my body to the bench,” Green continued. “But yeah, this can’t happen. We need to win games. Like I said, I’m not going to overreact.

“I know where I am, and I understand what I’m doing moving forward.”

The Warriors will be back in action on Friday night when they hit the road to take on the Charlotte Hornets.