Draymond Green has started on four Golden State Warriors championship teams, serving as a crucial part of their core next to Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, but he has also put together a highlight reel of “dirty” moments.
The latest low-lights for Green came this season after putting Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert in a chokehold and swinging and landing a shot on Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic.
Do these recurring moments stain Green’s image?
On the latest edition of “The Skip Bayless Show,” Skip Bayless argued they do and took it a step further.
“In my career, I have never seen anything like this phenomenon. Draymond Green is, no exaggeration, the dirtiest player in NBA history by far,” Bayless said. “I dare you to go on YouTube, call up and watch those low-light tapes of the cavalcade of Draymond Green’s dirtiest plays over the years … the cheap shots, the low blows, the dangerous plays. Draymond is the all-time cheap-shot artist. … Since he entered the league, Draymond Green has been ejected a league-high 20 times.
“He’s been called for technical fouls 151 times. That’s barely second to Russell Westbrook at 153.”
Green recently called Bayless a “hater,” with Bayless saying he’d love to have Green on set to go back and forth with.
Green was suspended five games for choking Gobert and then suspended indefinitely after the Nurkic shot. He returned after roughly one month. Other incidents with Green over the years include him stepping on Sacramento Kings big man Domantas Sabonis in a tie-up and kicking then-Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams below the waist, among others.
Green averaged 8.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.0 steal per game, while shooting 49.7/39.5/73.0 this season. The Warriors finished 46-36, good for the 10th seed in the West, but were eliminated in the Play-in Tournament by the Kings.
Green, 34, is a two-time All-NBA honoree, four-time NBA All-Star and eight-time All-Defensive honoree. He has spent his entire 12-year career with the Warriors.
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