5 dirtiest plays of Draymond Green's career

Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors the 2021 preseason

Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors is notorious for getting under his opponent's skin.

He has built a reputation for this kind of behavior, and even the slightest of on-court altercations can easily lead to a technical foul for him or even his ejection. He once received a technical for shouting at his own teammate, James Wiseman.

Draymond Green just got ejected for picking up his second technical foul.

Green was talking to teammate James Wiseman, but the ref thought he was talking to him and ejected the Warriors forward. 🤦🏽‍♂️

https://t.co/EDyqj6B2ra

Draymond Green has been top 12 in the league in technical fouls drawn for every season since 2014, and has been second twice. He has had ejections from regular-season games and even high-intensity NBA Finals clashes. Green often shouts at referees as well, and the opposing fans start to celebrate thinking he would get ejected.

The Golden State Warriors take on the LA Lakers on opening night of the 2021-22 NBA season, and they will need every bit of Draymond Green's intensity. On that note, here's a look at five dirty plays by Green over the years:

#5 Draymond Green and Bradley Beal fight in 2017

Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors walks off with a torn jersey [Source: Bleacher Report]

On October 27th, 2017, Draymond Green and Bradley Beal got into a violent altercation on the court in the final minute of the first half.

Green blocked Beal's shot near the rim, and then proceeded to box him out to grab the rebound after Kelly Oubre Jr.'s missed three-pointer. The fight erupted after Beal seemingly grabbed Green by the neck, and the two players went at it, eventually reaching the front row of the stands.

Here's the full fight between Beal & Draymond https://t.co/9fAKCZdb2S

One would never know if Beal did so out of frustration because Green had blocked his shot. He spoke about the incident after the game, and said he expects to get suspended by the NBA because the league would interpret it as his fault.

ESPN's Chris Haynes asked Draymond Green about the incident and subsequent ejection at half-time to which the latter replied:

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do if someone hits you twice...Man, you're taught as a kid not to allow that. What was I supposed to do?"

The fight was so serious and violent that Draymond Green's jersey was completely torn apart. Both the players got ejected from the game and were later suspended. Green received a $25,000 fine, while Beal had to pay $50,000.

#4 Draymond Green shoved James Harden during Game 1 of the 2018 NBA Western Conference Finals

Draymond Green pushes James Harden in Game 1 of the 2018 WCF [Source: USA Today]

Not every fight results in torn jerseys, and on-court altercations during a playoff game often cool down within seconds because players realise the gravity of the situation. Nobody wants to get thrown out of the game while your team is fighting to avoid elimination. However, at the same time, the intensity in playoff games is always amped up.

Not even 70 seconds into the game, Draymond Green received a technical foul for shoving James Harden in Game 1 of the 2018 NBA Western Conference Finals. The Houston Rockets had the best record in the league and had home-court advantage over the Golden State Warriors, so they hosted Game 1. Harden scored five quick points for the Rockets, and then Green elbowed him to the chin and proceeded to shove him on the chest.

Draymond wasted no time getting that first tech https://t.co/d4zwh3xZ5d

James Harden was the best player on the Rockets team, and he couldn't afford to get tangled with a hot-head like Green, so he walked away with class. Meanwhile, Green received a technical foul for the umpteenth time that season, and the Bay Area fans feared a one-game suspension for the forward.