Golden State Warriors forward
Draymond Green has played in 930 games between the regular season and playoffs during his 12 years in the
NBA. He has been ejected from 19 of them, which is the most of any active player and the second-most all-time behind Rasheed Wallace (27).
His most recent one came on Tuesday night when
he smacked Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic in the face and received a Flagrant 2 foul. In the wake of yet another hostile act and early exit, here is a complete history of Green's ejections for various physical and verbal transgressions.
1. Nov. 23, 2013: Ejected for role in fight between Warriors and Blazers
Late in the third quarter of the
Portland Trail Blazers' 113-101 win over the Warriors, Andrew Bogut and Joel Freeland got into it under the basket while battling for a rebound. Bogut took exception to Freeland's physicality and swung an elbow at the Brit, which kicked off a huge scrum full of pushing and shoving and the grabbing of jerseys.
Green, to little surprise, was right in the middle of the fray, but in his defense he didn't really do anything egregious. Yet for whatever reason, the refs decided he was an escalator and ejected him, along with Mo Williams and
Wesley Matthews. It's perhaps a bit ironic that Green's first career ejection was unearned, as he'd certainly get his money's worth as his career went along.
2. Dec. 25, 2013: Ejected for elbowing Blake Griffin in the head
It would take Green just a few months to earn his second ejection. He was apparently not in the Christmas spirit when the Warriors hosted the
Los Angeles Clippers in a marquee Christmas Day showdown between the then-rivals. Late in the third quarter, he threw an elbow Blake Griffin's way and connected with the big man's head.
Green was assessed a Flagrant 2 foul, which comes with an automatic ejection. Griffin, who received a technical for his reaction to Green's elbow, and was later ejected himself after picking up a second technical,
accused Green and the Warriors of "cowardly" play
The NBA would later apologize to Griffin and admit his ejection was unwarranted. Green, on the other hand, was fined $15,000 for failing to leave the court in the timely manner.
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3. Feb. 15, 2017: Ejected for arguing a call in win over Kings
Green was involved in plenty of drama over the next three-plus years, most notably his suspension for Game 5 of the 2016 NBA Finals, but he was not ejected from a contest during that span. It wasn't until the day after Valentine's Day in 2017 that he would get tossed again --
this time, for arguing a call in the Warriors' win over the Sacramento Kings.
Later in the third quarter, Green was called for a foul as
DeMarcus Cousins converted a circus and-one. Green reacted angrily and was given two technicals in quick succession.
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"We love Draymond. He plays with an edge and we need that edge. In many ways, he represents our toughness and our energy. We struggle sometimes without him to bring the energy," Warriors head coach Steve Kerr
said. "Draymond, he's always gonna play on that edge, and tonight he crossed the edge.
"We need him to walk that line. We don't want to take away that chip on his shoulder, but we need him on the floor, too."
4. Oct. 27, 2017: Ejected for scuffle with Bradley Beal
A few weeks into the season, Bradley Beal and the
Washington Wizards visited the Bay Area and were not too kind to their hosts. Late in the first half, Beal grabbed Green's jersey and hit the Warriors forward in the face. Green, understandably, took exception, and the two began scuffling along the baseline. At one point, Beal had Green in a headlock, and by the time Green emerged from the fracas his jersey had been shredded.
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Though Green was the victim this time, he was still involved in a fight that spilled into the stands, which is why was handed a technical -- his second of the game, which meant an ejection.
He was, understandably, not pleased.
He yelled "they out to get me bro" as he ran off the court, then shared further thoughts after the game.
"I don't know what I'm supposed to do if someone hits you twice," Green
said. "Man, you're taught as a kid not to allow that. What was I supposed to do? There's history with me and the NBA. That's the only reason I can think of why I was ejected."
Green was later fined $25,000 for his role in the melee, which he wasn't happy about either.
"I don't know what else you're supposed to do at that point,"
Green said. "I didn't even grab him and slam him. I grabbed him and held my ground, and then they slammed me on top of him. What did they say? I continued, or I failed to disengage? How do you disengage at that point? That sounds like we got him, to me. I have never heard that before in my life.
"And out in the world, if somebody hits you, you're allowed to defend yourself. It's called self-defense. If somebody shoots you, you're allowed to shoot back. Self-defense. I got hit and didn't even hit back and got fined.
"And then for him to get fined only $50,000 and I get fined $25,000. Oubre came in throwing punches and he gets fined less than me? That just don't add up. I know [the league is] not the biggest fan of me, and that's fine, but don't be so obvious that you're not the biggest fan of me. That's just too obvious. So, I think at the end of the day, they're going to make out who they want to make out to be the bad guy. That's cool, but be fair across the board."
5. Dec. 30, 2017: Ejected for two soft technicals against the Grizzlies
A few months after his scrap with Beal, Green was again ejected in controversial circumstances. Early in the second quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies, Green was called for a foul and began what seemed like a fairly normal, if a bit loud, conversation with an official. That brought technical number one. Less than a minute later, Green was called for another foul and dismissively waved at the ref. That brought technical number two and ejection number five of his career.
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Green, wisely, chose not to comment after the game. "Nah, I'm going to save my money," Green
said.
6. Feb. 6, 2018: Ejected for throwing the ball in an official's direction
Green was on a roll during the 2017-18 season, and early in February picked up his third ejection in four months. This one came in the fourth quarter of the Warriors' loss to the
Oklahoma City Thunder, and prompted some opportune taunting from
Russell Westbrook.
Early in the fourth, Green, who had already received one technical foul in the game, was called for an illegal screen. Upset with the whistle, he tossed the ball toward the ref. It wasn't done with much force, but Green was not getting the benefit of the doubt at that point. Westbrook, who was on the bench at the time, got up and started pointing to the exit, telling Green where to go.
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Echoing his comments from the ejection against the Grizzlies, Green declined comment. "Nah, I'm going to save my money," he
said.
As it turned out, he had to write another big check anyway. A few days later,
the league fined him $50,000 for "directing inappropriate and offensive language toward a game official." Those in-game comments came when he received his first technical at the end of the second quarter.
7. Feb. 8, 2019: Ejected for two technical fouls in win over Suns
Almost exactly a year later, Green received his next ejection. Like many others over the course of his career, this one was the result of two technical fouls. In the first quarter of the Warriors' win over the Phoenix Suns, Green picked up a technical, which would come back to bite him.
In the waning seconds of the third quarter,
Kelly Oubre Jr. nearly headbutted Green while celebrating a big dunk.
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After the quarter ended, Green walked the length of the court to seek out an official and share his frustration with Oubre's antics. DeMarcus Cousins and
Jordan Bell tried to save him, but it was too late. Green was issued a second technical and his marching orders.
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8. Nov. 11, 2019: First player to be ejected from Chase Center
The Warriors moved into their new arena, Chase Center, at the start of the 2019 season. It took Green less than a month to become the first player to get ejected in the building. This was another case of Green picking up two technical fouls for arguing with the officials.
Early in the fourth quarter, Green tried to take a charge, but was called for a block instead. He immediately jumped to his feet and started yelling "How?" at an official, which earned him his first technical. As
Bojan Bogdanovic was shooting the free throw, Green kept on complaining and was run from the game.
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"I disagreed with that call," Green
said. "And I'm never going to be OK with another grown man telling me, 'Don't talk.' If you feel like you got the call wrong, or right, you don't tell me not to talk. I'm a grown man. I got my own kids. So that's what happened."
9. Jan. 4, 2020: Ejected after mocking referee's technical foul call
With
Kevin Durant off to Brooklyn and
Steph Curry and
Klay Thompson sidelined due to long-term injuries, the 2019-20 season quickly turned into a disaster for the Warriors. To little surprise, the frustration got to Green at various points along the way, including in this early January game against the
Pistons.
In the middle of the third quarter he was arguing a call when the ref hit him with a technical foul. Green mocked the ref's signal and was shortly thereafter hit with a second technical and sent packing.
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10. Feb. 27, 2020: Ejection gets Lakers bench laughing
Late in February, Green was ejected for the third time in the 2019-20 season. This one had
LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers' bench laughing in amusement at Green's theatrics.
In the middle of the second quarter, Green fouled
Dwight Howard, then dragged him to the ground. For some reason, he decided to argue that call and was hit with a technical foul. On the next possession, Green again got tangled up with Howard, and after getting knocked to the ground tried to trip the opposing big man. He was called for a personal foul and began berating the officials, which made the second technical a no-doubter.
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Not for the first time, nor the last, a frustrated Kerr lamented Green's inability to keep his cool.
"We needed him in the second half," Kerr said after the team's loss. "We missed him out there."
11. Feb. 20, 2021: Last-second ejection costs Warriors the game
One of the most consequential ejections of Green's career came in late February of 2021, when he was tossed in the waning seconds of the Warriors' loss to the
Charlotte Hornets at the buzzer.
With 13.3 seconds to play, there was a jump ball at mid-court with the Warriors clinging to a two-point lead. The ball initially ricocheted around before
Gordon Hayward grabbed ahold of it and asked for a timeout. Just as he did so, Green got his hands in there and wanted another jump ball. The refs decided to grant the Hornets the timeout, which infuriated Green. He started yelling at the officials, and soon earned himself two technicals and an ejection.
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Terry Rozier made both of the free throws to tie the game, then hit a jumper at the buzzer on the Hornets' ensuing possession to give them a wild win.
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After the game, Steve Kerr noted Green was apologetic, but still called him out.
"He crossed the line, that's the main thing," Kerr
said. "We love his passion and his energy and we would not be the team we are without him. But that doesn't give him license to cross the line — and he knows that."
A few days later, a candid Green apologized for costing his team the game.
"As I sat and thought about the situation…I was dead ass wrong," Green
said. "It bothered me more than being suspended from Game 5 of the NBA Finals in 2016. And the reason it bothered me more than that is because, you know, you can have your thoughts on the Game 5 situation… but this situation in particular I had complete control. And I let that control get away from me and, in turn, I let the game get away from myself and my teammates."
12. March 20, 2022: Ejected for directing profane language towards a referee
The Warriors would eventually go on to win the 2022 title, but late in that season they went into a tailspin in which they lost 14 of 20 games. One of the worst defeats came to the
Boston Celtics on March 16, when they were outclassed and lost Steph Curry to a foot injury in the process.
A few days later, Green was apparently still feeling some frustration, as he got himself ejected from their loss to the
San Antonio Spurs. As per usual, he did not agree with a call an official made, and decided to let them know about it in demonstrative fashion. After getting one technical, he kept on yapping and was eventually ejected after telling the ref "that's terrible."
Green would later be fined $25,000 as a result of the altercation for "directing profane language" towards an official.
13. May 1, 2022: First career playoff ejection
In Game 1 of the Warriors' second-round matchup with the Grizzlies in 2022, Green received the first playoff ejection of his career for a hard foul on
Brandon Clarke. Late in the first half, Clarke received a drop-off pass under the basket. Green swiped for the ball, but instead hit Clarke in the face with his right hand, then grabbed his jersey with his left hand and dragged him to the ground.
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The initial ruling was a common foul, but after the officials went to the monitor, they upgraded it to a Flagrant 2 for the "wind-up to the face, impact to the face, follow through to the jersey and the throw down to the ground."
While the play was under review, the Grizzlies crowd chanted "throw him out!" and when that verdict was confirmed, Green made a big show of the decision by running around the court and hyping up the fans even more.
After the Warriors hung on for a one-point win,
Green recorded an episode of his podcast, during which he called it "very interesting" and "a reputation thing." These were his extended thoughts:
"A Flagrant 2. I mean -- unnecessary contact. I can't quite say it was unnecessary because I was trying to stop him from making a bucket and getting an and one. So I can't quite say it was unnecessary. Excessive -- I didn't even really make contact with the guy's body so excessive would be a bit extreme.
If a guy is flying off of one leg then maybe you say, 'alright, he was in an unsafe position, he couldn't protect himself, Flagrant 2.' A guy jumping off two feet straight up and down, who then sells a foul and dives to the floor -- can't quite say he was in an unsafe position.
So I guess me trying to explain this flagrant foul to you, your guess is just as good as mine. By definition, if we go through the definition of a Flagrant 2 foul, I'm not sure that play would quite be the definition of a flagrant foul. I'm not sure it would meet that criteria."
The league would not reduce Green's punishment.
14. Dec. 14, 2022: Ejected for arguing calls against the Pacers
In the middle of December, the Warriors made a Midwest swing that did not go to plan. On Dec. 13 in Milwaukee,
Green had a fan ejected for allegedly threatening his life. The next night, Green himself was ejected from the Warriors' loss to the Pacers for yelling at the refs -- this, after Steph Curry had exited with a shoulder injury that would eventually keep him out for nearly a month.
Early in the fourth quarter, Green fouled Benedict Mathurin while he was shooting a 3-pointer. Instead of a four-point possession, it turned into a five-point trip for the Pacers after Green picked up a technical. Fourteen seconds later, during the next dead ball, Green continued to jaw with the refs and picked up his second tech.
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15. Jan. 4, 2023: Ejected for trying to play peacmaker
Green has complained time and again that he gets punished differently because of his reputation, and he certainly appeared to have a case in early January last season. Late in the fourth quarter he was ejected from the team's loss to the Detroit Pistons for picking up a second technical while trying to play peacemaker.
After
Saddiq Bey made a 3-pointer, Green got tangled up with
Isaiah Stewart, who yanked Green by the jersey. Green simply grabbed ahold of Stewart with a bear hug and prevented the incident from escalating. Still, the refs assessed double technicals, which meant Green, who already had one, was kicked out.
A dismayed Green expressed his feelings after the game:
"Make a choice, make a decision," Green
said. "Make a decision. The one thing I can guarantee you is it wasn't a double tech, so just make a choice. That's it... I said, 'Chill out, bro. Chill out, bro. I'm on that type of time. Chill out, bro. Chill out.'
I'm gonna get suspended for a game anyway because of what's happened in the past with referees. So you stop talking to them and you still get techs. So I'm gonna get suspended anyways, it is what it is. There's not anything that I can do about it."
Kerr took his star's side as well.
"If it's earned, it's earned," Kerr said. "Maybe I'm totally wrong. If I'm wrong then that's my fault. But I don't really believe there should be double technicals that lead to an ejection for that."
16. April 17, 2023: Another playoff ejection for stomping on Domantas Sabonis
The Warriors' first-round playoff series with the Sacramento Kings became contentious immediately. Late in the Kings' Game 1 win,
Green sat on top of Domantas Sabonis after the two got tangled up. Nothing would come of that incident, but a few nights later Green took it too far in the Kings' Game 2 win.
Early in the fourth quarter,
Malik Monk missed a floater, and Sabonis was knocked to the ground in the fight for the rebound. For some reason, he decided to grab Green's leg, which obviously is not allowed. Green, however, escalated the situation by stomping on Sabonis' chest once his leg was free.
The refs went to the monitor to review the situation and settled on a technical foul for Sabonis and a Flagrant 2 for Green, which comes with an automatic ejection. Just as he did after his ejection in the playoffs in Memphis, Green egged on the Sacramento crowd as he left the floor.
Afterward, Green tried to explain himself.
"My leg got grabbed, second time in two nights," Green said. "Refrees just watch it. I gotta land my foot somewhere, and I'm not the most flexible person so it's not stretching that far. I can only step so far and pulling my leg away, so it is what it is.
"The explanation [from the officials for the ejection] was I stomped too hard."
Sabonis, for his part, didn't feed into the drama.
"It's playoff basketball," Sabonis said. "Look at the fans, this is it. We're here to fight. Every time we step on the floor we're gonna give everything for our teammates and the franchise. We're both fighting for the rebound. We fell on each other, stuff happens, it's basketball, we gotta move on, next play."
17: Nov. 11, 2023: Ejected for getting into it with Donovan Mitchell
In the middle of November, the
Cleveland Cavaliers made their lone trip to the Bay Area, and things got chippy between Green and Donovan Mitchell in the third quarter. The sequence would eventually lead to Green's first ejection of the season.
With just under seven minutes to play in the frame, Green picked Mitchell's pocket and then drew a foul on the Cavaliers guard in the chase for the loose ball. On the ensuing possession, Steph Curry missed a 3-pointer, which started a fastbreak for the Cavaliers. As Mitchell ran the floor, Green shoved him into the first row of the crowd. Mitchell then got up, chased Green down and gave him a hard foul of his own.
Upon doing so, Mitchell told the refs to go look at what had happened before his foul. They took his advice and issued a second technical to Green for the push, which resulted in an ejection.
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"He pushed me, so I pushed him back,"
Mitchell said. "Simple tit for tat. Nothing outside of that. I just knew they had to look at that previous play. Gotta know the rulebook a little bit."
After the game, Green said he wasn't surprised that he got run.
"I am the same person that got suspended from the NBA Finals for flagrant fouls that were all called from after the game," Green said. Nothing surprises me."
Kerr, however, was confused about the ruling.
"I had never heard this rule, but apparently you can retroactively call a technical from two plays before upon review," Kerr said. "There's a lot of plays I'd like to go back to from three years ago. It was bizarre."
18. Nov. 15, 2023: Ejected for putting Rudy Gobert in a chokehold
It would take Green just four days to earn his second suspension of the new season due to one of the most egregious acts of his career.
Less than two minutes into the Warriors' matchup with the
Minnesota Timberwolves, Klay Thompson and
Jaden McDaniels got tangled up. There was some pushing and shoving going on, and multiple players quickly arrived on the scene. Most of them were trying to break things up, but Green escalated the situation by jumping on Rudy Gobert and putting the Frenchman in a chokehold.
Green then dragged Gobert out of the mix and had to be settled down by multiple Warriors staffers.
After a lengthy review, Thompson, McDaniels and Green were all ejected.
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A few days later, Green spoke to reporters about the incident for the first time and said he didn't regret his actions.
"I don't live my life with regrets," Green said. "I'll come to a teammate's defense any time that I'm in a position to come to a teammate's defense. ... What matters to me is how the people that I care about feel, first and foremost. How are the people that I care about affected? How are the people I care about, what do they have to deal with? That's it for me."
The NBA came down hard with a five-game suspension, the longest of Green's career. In a statement explaining the decision, NBA VP Joe Dumars said that the severity of the punishment was "based in part on Green's history of unsportsmanlike acts."
In response, Green complained about that stance.
"To continue mentioning, 'Oh, well, he did this in the past,' I paid for those," Green said. "I got suspended in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. You can't keep suspending me for those actions."
Gobert, who was deemed a peacemaker in the incident and received no punishment, later called out Green for "clown behavior.
He also gave an interesting explanation for why Green's ejection didn't surprise him.
"It's kind of funny because before the game I was telling myself Steph is not playing, so I know Draymond is going to try to get ejected," Gobert said. "Every time Steph doesn't play, he doesn't want to play without his guy Steph, so he's doing anything to get ejected. It's all good.
"Just clown behavior. I'm proud of myself for being the bigger man, again and again. It doesn't even deserve me putting my hands on him. My team needed me tonight, so I wanted to keep my cool and not make the situation worse. I do hope the league is going to do what needs to be done, because that's just clown behavior. There's not much to say, it's clown behavior."
Gobert, as it turned out, had a point. From the start of the 2019 season through the Timberwolves incident, Green was ejected 11 times; seven of them came in games Curry didn't play. And that doesn't include his ejection on Dec. 14, 2022, which came almost immediately after Curry left with an injury.
19. Dec. 12, 2023: Ejected for hitting Jusuf Nurkic in the face
Green apparently did not learn anything from the Gobert situation, as less than a month later he was ejected for yet another hostile act. This one, a swing at Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic, was
his third of the season and the 19th of his career, which is the most among active players.
Early in the third quarter, the two big men were battling for position when Green suddenly wheeled around and clocked Nurkic in the face. Nurkic crumpled to the ground and the referees went to the monitor, where they rather quickly came to the conclusion that the foul would be upgraded to a Flagrant 2.
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Green claimed post-game that he was simply trying to sell a call and apologized to Nurkic.
"[Nurkic] was pulling my hip, and I was swinging away to sell the call and made contact with him," Green said. "As you know, I'm not one to apologize for things I meant to do, but I do apologize to Jusuf. I didn't intend to hit him.
"A replay is never gonna look good, but I know my intentions, and my intentions were to sell the call. I also don't think I'm an accurate enough puncher to do a full 360 and connect with someone. It's unfortunate."
Nurkic wasn't having it.
"What's going on with him?" Nurkic said. "I don't know. Personally, I feel like that brother needs help. I'm glad he didn't try to choke me. At the same time, it ain't nothing to do with basketball."
Kerr, meanwhile, once again cut a forlorn figure.
"We need him," Kerr said. "We need Draymond. But he knows that, we've talked to him. He's got to find a way to keep his poise and be out there for his teammates... if we're gonna be a really good team, we need him."
It's currently unclear if Green will face any further punishment from the league for this one.
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