Draymond Green discloses exchanges with courtside heckler: "I was this close to going back"
Draymond Green has had quite the rollercoaster of a season so far. After punching Jordan Poole during the offseason and creating an absolute whirlwind of headlines, the two men put things behind them to help the team win back-to-back championships. However, the Warriors' season got off to a rocky start as the team couldn't seem to get things together on the court.
With the team fighting to compete for a playoff seed, Green recently had an exchange with a fan sitting courtside. The incident took place midway through the third quarter in their game against the Milwaukee Bucks. While Giannis Antetokounmpo was taking a pair of free throws, a fan allegedly made a pretty serious comment towards Green.
Green immediately used the in-game break to call the fan out for the comment, repeatedly asking him "What's the pass?." The response came after the fan allegedly said that he would give Green a pass this time. Without any further context to the matter, Green addressed the situation post-game to reflect on the incident, vaguely explaining what the fan said:
"Some threatening stuff to my life. So I was this close to really going back, diving all the way in but I just went back and told the official. And when I told the official what he said he's like 'oh he gotta get out of here' so he gotta get out of here."
He continued, reflecting on how he handled the situation in comparison to another incident earlier in the season where he was fined for verbally engaging with a fan:
"I can't necessarily say that hasn't been an option, that's kind of been an option but I think there are times where you're just in the moment and you responding so that's been an option, that wasn't like 'oh I just found out that was an option once I got fined,' like that's been there and the league has made that clear to us for years that that's been there"
You can see the footage of Green talking to media members post-game below.
Draymond Green's mentality since altercation with Jordan Poole
Since his altercation with Jordan Poole, Draymond Green took a leave of absence from the team. At the time, Green was going through some things off the court that impacted his mindstate and his abilities as a leader.
He later explained that he has to continue to learn from such incidents, something many believe was on full display when he handled the heckler in the Bucks match. While Draymond Green could have flown off the rails, he diffused the situation by having the official kicking the fan out.
He spoke about his growth and the human element that sometimes prompts a response to hecklers, saying:
"Like I said we're human beings and there are times where you just respond you know. Try to learn from the mistakes but like I said there's still that human inside the human element to it that sometimes you're just gonna respond."
Below you can see highlights from the game.