Draymond Green remains adamant on innocence after controversial Steph Curry game-winner: "Hitting the rim is not a goaltend"
Golden State Warriors All-Star forward Draymond Green maintained that he did not commit any goaltending violation in their narrow 141-139 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in their NBA In-Season Tournament game on Friday.
The highly competitive contest had a wild ending as what seemed to be a game-winning basket by Stephen Curry with 0.2 seconds left, and the score knotted at 139-all was initially ruled a no-go after Green was called for goaltending.
The play was left for review after, and following a lengthy discussion, it was determined that it was actually Thunder player Josh Giddey who touched the net first before Green had contact with the rim.
The goaltending call on the defensive specialist was overturned, eventually preserving the Warriors' win.
In the postgame press conference, Draymond Green reiterated that he did not commit a violation because from his perspective, hitting the rim is not a goaltend. And he went on to explain what took place during the sequence in question.
The four-time NBA champion said:
“My perspective was that my hand touched the rim. [Because] I was going, because the ball was like about to pop out and I went for a putback. And when I jumped to get the putback, Giddey went like back my legs so [I bent forward] and hit the rim. But hitting the rim is not a goaltend.”
The win was the first for Green and the Warriors in the just-started NBA In-Season Tournament. Curry led the way for the teams with 30 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Dario Saric had 20 points while Jonathan Kuminga added 19. Draymond Green finished with 15 markers.
Golden State plays in West Group C in the NBA In-Season Tournament along with the Thunder, Sacramento Kings, Minnesota Timberwolves and San Antonio Spurs.
The tournament has a similar format to that of in-season European football tournaments and the WNBA Commissioner's Cup. All the 30 NBA teams are competing in matches set from Nov. 3 to Dec. 9.
Draymond Green touts loyalty as reason for re-signing with Warriors
Former NBA Defensive Player of the Year Draymond Green could have transferred to another team in the offseason but instead chose to re-sign with Golden State out of loyalty to the team he has been for 12 years now.
The Michigan State product signed a four-year, $100-million contract to remain with the Warriors, where he has won four NBA titles since joining the squad in 2012.
In an interview on "The Pat Bev Podcast", he shared the reason behind his re-signing, which was arrived at with help from his agent Rich Paul. He said:
“He [Rich Paul] made it very clear to me and evident just how important loyalty is, how important the situation that you’re in is, and for me, I’ve been there my entire career.
“The way Rich stayed in the pocket and just, the only thing to him, was my legacy, like yeah we’re going to get you paid, but your legacy is more important than anything.”
Check out what he said in the video below, beginning at 5:35:
In the ongoing NBA season, Draymond Green has averaged 7.7 points, 7.0 assists and 4.3 rebounds in four games for the Warriors (5-1).