Warriors forward Draymond Green was booed every time he touched the ball at Golden Center 1 in Game 5, but he doesn’t see himself as the villain in this series.
“To be honest with you, I barely heard them,” Green said of the Kings fans. “I was just dialed in on the task at hand and focused. I wanted to make sure I didn’t give them any of my energy tonight. I didn’t give any of my energy to them to anything other than winning this basketball game. I wanted to focus all my energy towards that. …
Green stomped on Domantas Sabonis’ chest in Game 2 and hadn’t been back on Sacramento’s home court since and despite coming off the bench, his injection was almost tangible as he recorded 21 points, four rebounds, seven assists and four steals on 80 percent shooting from the field, to help his team take a 3-1 series lead.
He still flexed and roared at the crowd and when asked if leans into the villain role in front of a jeering Kings crowd, he had a fairly candid answer.
“No, I just be myself,” Green said. “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. So whether that’s with a player, with a fan or a fanbase, it is what it is.”
The name Dillon Brooks springs to mind when the word villain is mentioned, so could Green’s “never ducking any smoke” comments be aimed at Brooks? This week the Grizzlies forward got schooled by LeBron James in back-to-back games and then refused to speak to the media following both.
It just so happens that there has been a growing rivalry between Golden State and Memphis since the 2022 Western Conference semifinals, so it is definitely possible Green was taking a subtle shot at the most embarrassed man in the NBA currently.
The Warriors will get a chance to advance to the second round on Friday, April 28 against the Kings at 5:ooPM PT.