The Warriors will return to TD Garden Thursday for the first time since the NBA Finals. And Draymond Green is speaking out.
In a recent interview with ESPN’s Kendra Andrews, Green recalled hearing racist taunts from Celtics fans last June. The 11-year NBA veteran, and long-time agitator, said the reaction was unlike anything he had ever experienced before.
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“You usually have situations where people talk crazy, but not the entire arena,” said Green. “You’ll have a situation where an entire arena will boo you, but not what the Boston fans were doing. So, it was just a different situation than I had ever seen. It took a while to adjust to it … It was just so unexpected. It caught me off guard.”
Green struggled in Games 3 and 4, scoring just two points in each of those contests. After Game 3, Steve Kerr and Warriors players bemoaned the vulgarity of the Garden crowd.
Green played better when the Warriors returned to Boston for Game 6, scoring 12 points to accompany 12 rebounds, eight assists, two blocks, and two steals in the series-winning clincher. He said it was one of the proudest moments of his career, especially considering the vitriol he faced from Celtics fans.
“It was such a beautiful thing,” he said. "It's not something they hadn't experienced before. So I think it's great that they experienced it from us. With Steph Curry doing what Steph Curry does and the guy they chose to call the N-word. It was beautiful.”
On a podcast in November, Green said he was repeatedly called racist names at the Garden last postseason, though he didn’t mention anything at the time.
With that said, Green said he’s looking forward to his return to the Garden.
“I’ll greet them with a nice smile,” he said. “Just as I did after we won the championship.”
The Warriors defeated the Celtics 123-107 when they met Dec. 10.