Steph visibly agitated as Draymond sees red within FOUR minutes… then vents frustration with a chair kick following a clutch victory.
Merely a day after a controversial altercation where he pulled down Australian NBA sensation Patty Mills by his neck, Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green found himself at the center of another contentious scene.
In a recent event, Green faced his 21st career ejection, ranking him second in the history of the NBA, for losing his temper at a referee merely four minutes into the game against the Orlando Magic.
The contentious forward engaged in a heated exchange with referee Ray Acosta following a personal foul call against him, only to escalate the situation by furiously confronting the official again after Stephen Curry was penalised with a shooting foul.
Acosta responded to Green’s aggressive behavior with a technical foul, escalating to an ejection after the 34-year-old player persisted in his confrontation.
This marks Green’s fourth ejection of the season, setting a new personal record and marking the highest number of ejections for a single player since Kevin Durant’s five ejections in the 2017-18 season.
Head coach Steve Kerr expressed his displeasure with the officiating team, unleashing a tirade, while teammate Steph Curry appeared deeply frustrated, shaking his head in disbelief over Green’s most recent expulsion.
Following a decisive three-pointer in the final 30 seconds that clinched a 101-93 victory, Curry celebrated with his iconic ‘night-night’ gesture before emotionally kicking a courtside chair.
This incident adds to a series of contentious actions by Green, who has been a significant physical presence in the Warriors’ four championship victories since 2015.
In the previous year’s playoffs, Green was ejected from the second game against the Sacramento Kings for a violent act against Domantas Sabonis.
This season, Green faced a five-game suspension for placing Rudy Gobert of the Minnesota Timberwolves in a headlock, followed by an “indefinite” suspension after a forceful action that impacted Jusuf Nurkic of the Phoenix Suns in the head/neck region, resulting in a 16-game absence in hopes of addressing his pattern of unsportsmanlike behavior.
Yet, it appears the efforts to curb Green’s aggressive conduct have yet to be effective.