Draymond Green, the Golden State Warriors’ power forward, is in the headlines once more for his unceasing on-court unsportsmanlike displays. Despite the Warriors superstar’s unprofessional attitude on the court, his list of notable achievements reflects his stature as a high-profile player.
Barely two weeks after Green’s return to court actions, after his 5-game ban for chokeholding Rudy Gobert, the Warriors’ antihero has recently hit a Suns’ center on the head, which looms another NBA action on Green.
Draymond Green hits Jusuf Nurkic’s head with a wild swing
Draymond Green, returning from his 5 game ban for chokeholding Timberwolves’ star Rudy Gobert, was recently ejected from the Phoenix Suns’ game, after hitting center Yusuf Nurkic on the head with a wild swing.
The incident occurred in the third quarter, as Green and Nurkic jolted for position on an in-bounds play. To the surprise of many, Green spun around and connected on a hard right to Nurkic’s face. The officials, then immediately called a foul and later upgraded to a flagrant 2, which gave rise to automatic ejection.
Meanwhile, at the time of Green’s ejection, he had achieved just 2 points on 1 out of 3 shooting, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 turnovers. The Warriors were leading 65-60 after Green’s departure but fell to 116-119. Surprisingly, Draymond Green, after the game, apologized and claimed the incident wasn’t intentional, but an attempt to sell a call.
Green said, “He was pulling my hip and I was swinging away to sell the call, made contact with him. As you know, I’m not one to apologize for things that I meant to do, but I do apologize to Jusuf because I didn’t intend to hit him. I sell calls with my arms. I don’t fall to sell a call. I’m not a flopper.”
Nevertheless, Draymond Green, in the new season so far, has been averaging a commendable 9.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 0.7 blocks in 25:08 minutes per game for the Warriors.
What punishment will Draymond Green get for striking Jusuf Nurkic?
It’s quite obvious that the Golden State Warriors’ power forward Draymond Green has an actual problem controlling himself on the court, as he could be on another suspension, following his recent incident with Suns’ center Yusuf Nurkic.
As per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, it’s disclosed that another suspension could be headed Draymond Green’s way. Adrian Wojnarowski stated, “Draymond Green will have to await a league office review and the possibility of another suspension.”
Meanwhile, in analyzing the incident, for 99% of the players in the NBA, the incident would possibly lead to a fine at worst. But, if another player sustained an injury, the penalty would be worse.
In any case, Green is the 1% of players, which just a fine shouldn’t be given to, owing to his history of on-court’s unprofessional displays. While the Warriors and their fans might be upset seeing their star player being punished occasionally, it’s quite obvious that Green appears to be the among the players with a long history of on-court bad conduct.
Furthermore, for a league that punished Ja Morant with 25 game ban for displaying a firearm publicly in his car, they should make a bold statement with whatever punishment they deem fit for Green’s action. Additionally, Green’s unending aggressive attitude has dragged the league’s image in the mud. The Golden State Warriors, reportedly enabling Green’s behavior by calling him an “enforcer,” in the past should also step in to control their player before he burns their fair play spirit to the ground.
