Warriors' Draymond Green addresses Zach Edey skirmish that led to flagrant foul

01/05/2025 12:29 PM

Draymond Green has been known to get involved in incidents with other NBA players, and another incident was added to the list last night when Green and Memphis Grizzlies big man Zach Edey got into it (again) during the Golden State Warriors 121-113 win.

While no punches or kicks were thrown, or headlocks applied, Green was assessed a flagrant foul for making “unnecessary contact” to Edey after the Memphis giant pulled down an offensive rebound and was about to put a shot back up. When Green held onto Edey after the foul, Edey turned around and pushed Green away before players from both teams got in the middle of the two.

After the game, Green said that the only reason why the referees ruled the foul was worthy of a flagrant-one destination was because of his reputation.

“But it’s Draymond Green, that’s why it’s a flagrant foul,” Green said. “It’s funny. You know what’s ironic? [Jonathan Kuminga], clean elbow to the head, boom, I said, ‘Wow, that’s a review.’ I said, ‘if I blow on someone, y’all review it.'”

"He play in the NBA. You think he good? … No [explanation was given]. But it's Draymond Green, that's why it's a flagrant foul."

Warriors forward Green on being given flagrant 1 for 'unnecessary contact' on Zach Edey last night.

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— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 5, 2025

Green is a frequent troublemaker when accounting for the fines and suspensions he has piled up throughout his successful career. This season, he has been assessed with a league-leading (with Dillon Brooks) eight technical fouls, each of which comes with a fine of $2,000 or $3,000. He picked up two, necessitating his ejection in a game earlier this season against Memphis, during which Green controversially clamped down on Edey’s ankle after a turnover.

Of course, Green’s offenses have been more severe; he was suspended indefinitely last season by the NBA for striking Jusuf Nurkic in the head just weeks after earning a suspension for choking Rudy Gobert. He was also notably suspended one game in the 2016 Finals for hitting LeBron James, and he earned a similar suspension during the 2023 playoffs when he stomped on the abdomen of Domantas Sabonis.

Possibly the most well-known moment, though, may be when Green punched then-Warriors teammate Jordan Poole during practice, which kept him out some preseason games before the 2022-23 season. The incident has been pointed to as one of the reasons why the Warriors failed to effectively defend their NBA title in 2023. Poole, who performed poorly following the incident, was also traded to the Washington Wizards after the season.

Despite his history of antics, which the NBA has said it took into consideration when levying an earlier suspension, Green is undoubtedly one of the best defenders of his generation. The vocal leader of the Warriors, he played a key role in helping Golden State capture four titles and make the Finals six times between 2015 and 2022.

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