'I'm Sick Of It': Draymond Green Blasts Critics After Latest Playoff Technical Foul

Green made a brief but very strong statement after his Thursday night technical foul puts him at further risk of a suspension.
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green drives to the basket past Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels.
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green drives to the basket past Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels. / Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

Draymond Green needed less than 20 seconds to make a strong statement after picking up a fifth postseason technical foul during the Golden State Warriors' 117–93 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in Thursday night's Game 2 of their second-round series.

During a play in the second quarter of the game, Green was assessed a technical foul after he elbowed Timberwolves forward Naz Reid in the face. Reid was initially called for a reaching violation after Green lost the ball while attempting to make a pass, hitting Reid in the face with his elbow as he tried to turn his body. Green was irate after the call, with injured Warriors guard Steph Curry coming off the bench to cool him down. Coach Steve Kerr subbed him out of the game to help deescalate the situation.

With five technicals in just nine postseason games, Green is two away from earning a suspension. Any team would struggle with losing a player as important as him during a tight playoff series, but the stakes are even higher with Curry set to miss at least a week of action.

"I'm not an angry Black man, I'm a very successful, educated Black man with a great family. And I'm great at basketball, I'm great at what I do. The agenda to try to keep making me look like an angry Black man is crazy. I'm sick of it, it's ridiculous," Green told reporters in a brief statement, as shared by Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

Well aware of what is at stake, Kerr cautioned that Green will have to be careful throughout the rest of the postseason after Thursday's call.

"He's going to have to be careful," said Kerr after the game. "He's going to have to stay composed and I'm confident he will because he knows the circumstances."

Minnesota evened the series at 1–1 with Thursday's win. Game 3 will take place in San Francisco on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET.


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Dan Lyons
DAN LYONS

Dan Lyons is a staff writer and editor on Sports Illustrated's Breaking and Trending News team. He joined SI for his second stint in November 2024 after a stint as a senior college football writer at Athlon Sports, and a previous run with SI spanning multiple years as a writer and editor. Outside of sports, you can find Dan at an indie concert venue or movie theater.