SACRAMENTO — Draymond knew the boos were coming. Just like in Cleveland during all those Finals runs. Just like in Memphis last year after he flipped off the fans. Just like in Boston during last year’s title chase.
As he walked to the scorer’s table midway through the first quarter of Wednesday’s tense Game 5 in Sacramento, the boos started raining down. The last time he was on the floor at Golden 1 Center, Draymond made an early exit to the locker room in Game 3 after stomping on Domantas Sabonis’ chest, retaliating for an ankle grab.
All Draymond did was go out and score his most points in a game (21) since 2019, make some massive defensive plays down the stretch, and even dusted off a step-back jumper that had his teammates eliciting Dirk Nowitzki comparisons. The 123-116 win wouldn’t have been possible without another great playoff performance from Draymond and the championship core.
It might appear that Draymond relishes the role of being a villain, fueling the hate to channel his focus and raise his game. But being a heel isn’t a title he desires. It’s more a byproduct of his incendiary personality.
“I just be myself,” Green said Wednesday night. “I don’t go chasing after some villain title. Being a villain is no fun. It’s not enjoyable, but I’m also never ducking any smoke. Whether that’s with a player, whether that’s with a fan or a fanbase, it is what it is. You gotta take the good with the bad.”
Ironically, Draymond getting ejected in Sacramento and subsequently suspended for Game 3 opened up the playbook for the Warriors and Steve Kerr this series. When Green returned to the floor in Game 4 in San Francisco he got a standing ovation. He knew what was coming in Game 5 in Sacramento.
“On the flipside of that, if you’re gonna bask and appreciate that, then you have to appreciate the other side as well, “Green said. “We pride ourselves on not being front-runners, so I knew for me, I couldn’t love and appreciate the love and cheers that I got at Chase and come out here and fold because everybody’s booing from the time I came in the game.”
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It’s hard to read that “front-runner” comment and not think of Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks. Back on April 19, Brooks spoke to reporters after Memphis evened up its series at 1-1 against the Los Angeles Lakers and he slowed down LeBron James.
Brooks recklessly called the 38-year-old James “old” and said “I poke bears” – which was probably a bit premature.
The Lakers won the next two games, including a Game 4 overtime thriller when James went left on Brooks (something Brooks said he wanted LeBron to do) and got a huge and-one bucket in crunch time. After each of those two losses, Brooks ducked reporters and refused comment.
Draymond talks while his team is down, too. After the Warriors dropped the first two games of the series in Sacramento, he smiled and said he loved the new challenge of being down 0-2 in a playoff series for the first time in his career.
The Warriors have responded by winning the past three contests and seizing firm control of the series. Green has been coming off the bench the past two games and kept Golden State’s offense flowing while staggering minutes with big man Kevon Looney. Kerr can use his two-big lineup to slow down the game in crunch time, but can build a lead with guard-heavy lineups.
NBA fans might like to lump Draymond and Brooks into the same “villain” group, but they’re clearly not cut from the same cloth. There’s still a fake tough guy quality about Brooks, a player who has never made an All-Star team or won more than two games in the second round of a playoff series.
Draymond and Brooks have also sparred through the media this season, as Brooks told ESPN he didn’t like the veteran Warriors forward. Green responded by ripping Brooks on his podcast ‘The Draymond Green Show’ calling him an “idiot” and a “clown” while shredding him bit by bit.
The Grizzlies also won on Wednesday night to stay alive, but Brooks remains one game away from being bounced by the old guy LeBron, as the series heads back to Los Angeles for Game 6.
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Brooks has finished six seasons and has never made it to the Western Conference Finals. By this point in Green’s career, he was a three-time All-Star en route to his third championship.
Draymond is the real deal. He’s 33 and he’s still doing his thing. His beard might be graying and he might have four titles, but Green is still the same firebrand the Warriors drafted as a youngster out of Michigan State.
“He’s emotional and at times crosses the line – as he will admit readily,” Kerr said after Game 5. “But at his core, all of that comes from a place of competitive desire. He just wants to win.”
Unlike Brooks, Green is actually a victor. Even it comes at the cost of swallowing his pride. Brooks’ hubris is tone deaf by comparison.
Green deserves his kudos for approaching Kerr after Game 3 and suggesting he begin the next game on the bench. He’s seen the floor open up for him and the Dubs. Despite going 3-of-14 in Game 4, Green stayed aggressive in Game 5 and went 8-of-10 from the field while scoring 21 points.
In the span of less than two minutes in the fourth quarter, with the Kings charging back hard to make it a one-point game, Green registered a block, two huge steals and this memorable fadeaway jumper.
“Draymond was amazing,” Kerr said. “Especially down the stretch. They were calling him Draymond Nowitzki after the fadeaway. It was maybe the biggest shot of the game.”
All the while, Green was getting booed every time he touched the ball. The noise at the free-throw line was deafening as he missed four of his eight attempts. The Golden 1 Center crowd even erupted into a ‘F–k you, Dray-mond!’ chant in the fourth quarter during a replay review. Draymond is no shrinking violet.
“I knew these fans would be at me from the time I went in,” Green said. “To be honest with you, I barely heard ‘em. I was dialed in at the task at hand and focused. I wanted to make sure I didn’t give them any of my energy to them tonight. I didn’t give any of my energy to them. Anything other than winning this basketball game I wanted to focus all my energy towards that. A couple times I noticed them, but for the majority of the game I didn’t even hear ‘em.”
Wednesday’s night’s game proved that the Warriors should try to keep their dynasty core together as long as possible. Ride it ‘til the wheels fall off. At this rate – with Steph, Klay and Draymond playing at such a high level in the postseason – Golden State’s title window might stay open longer than the Grizzlies. In fact, you could argue Memphis’s window has never opened, and maybe never will.
It’s 2023 and Draymond is still Draymond. Love him or hate him, he’s a winner.
