Over the past few years, Draymond Green has emerged as one of the most contentious figures in the NBA. Unquestionably a vital component of the Golden State Warriors system, the four-time All-Star and prior Defensive Player of the Year is frequently in the headlines for the wrong reasons.
Draymond is one hell of a character when it comes to NBA and ejections. He is known for his trash-talking but more for his bad fouls and unnecessary actions while playing on the court. Just recently on 14th November, he was again involved in a tussle against the Minnesota Timberwolves which eventually led to his ejection.
Draymond Green is once again THE DIRTIEST PLAYER IN NBA HISTORY pic.twitter.com/NkfZHfkWNt
— Sports Central (@1SportsCentral) November 15, 2023
Draymond Green got dismissed from a game for the eighteenth time in his career as per Spotrac. Throughout his career, he has also been fined $1.3 million in earnings according to various reports. Over his NBA career, Green has received four suspensions and one from the Warriors making it 5 in total.
Draymond Green gets ejected more often when Steph Curry is not on the court
After a brawl broke out during the in-season tournament match on the 14th of November against the Timberwolves, Green was one of three players sent off (ejected). He also received a suspension for “forcibly grabbing” Rudy Gobert around the neck “in an unsportsmanlike and dangerous manner,” NBA executive vice president Joe Dumars said in a statement.
Rudy Gobert was very agitated and disappointed by the antiques of green and also had an interesting theory for his ejection. He said “Every time Steph doesn’t play, he doesn’t want to play without his guy Steph so he does anything he can to get ejected,” Gobert said after the game.
7 of Draymond Green’s last 11 ejections have occurred in games where Steph Curry did not play 🤯 pic.twitter.com/vdNNLJ9n50
— Guru (@DrGuru_) November 15, 2023
According to NBA writer Bryan Kalbrosky, the first time Green was disqualified while Curry was out of the game was on November 11, 2019, against the Utah Jazz. Additionally, according to Kalbrosky’s study, Green was ejected four times in a row during games that Curry did not suit up for.
In addition, Green was dismissed from games on January 4, 2020 (Piston match), February 27, 2020 (Lakers), February 20, 2021 (Hornets match), March 20, 2022 (Spurs match), and January 4, 2023 (Piston match). So Gobert’s theory does come to fruition if you look at the stats and numbers.
Draymond Green has been ejected 18 times and suspended 5 times in his career
The NBA announced on November 15 that Draymond Green, a player for the Golden State Warriors, has been suspended for a total of 5 games without payment for “escalating an on-court altercation”. This was during the team’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on November 14.
The NBA is suspending Golden State’s Draymond Green for five games, source tells ESPN. Significant hit for the Warriors. pic.twitter.com/QlexGdXNUd
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 16, 2023
Not only did he get suspended, but he got ejected from the game too. This was the 18th time Green got ejected in his career as per Spotrac. Talking about suspensions, after the NBA announced on the 15th of November that Green would be suspended for 5 games, this takes his tally to 5 suspensions in his career according to ESPN.
It remains to be seen what is going to happen next with Draymond Green and the Warriors after this suspension. Without Green the Warriors lack defensive stability and often tend to perform poorly even with the likes of Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, Green provides proper support at the back which they will miss for now.