"He should be in a mental hospital" - NBA fans erupt as Draymond Green's controversial foul on Grizzlies rookie escalated to flagrant
In the Golden State Warriors' 123-118 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday, Draymond Green fouled rookie Zach Edey. In the third quarter, with Golden State up by 10, Green fell and turned the ball over while driving to the hoop. As Edey looked to make an outlet pass to start a fastbreak, Green clamped down on his ankle.
The move resulted in Edey falling to the ground as Green clamped his elbow on the young big man's foot. At the time, a foul was called. However, after further review, the "NBA Official" has announced on X (formerly Twitter) that the foul has been upgraded to a flagrant 1.
"Draymond Green’s (GSW) foul against Zach Edey (MEM) at 7:06 of 3rd qtr on 11/15/24 has been upgraded to a Flagrant 1 after league review," NBA Official tweeted on Saturday.
The NBA community was quick to react to the news:
"He should be in a mental hospital," one wrote.
"Can he just retire already… he has been a dirty player for years now," another added.
"How is this not a flagrant 2 bro. It’s the definition of excessive," another wrote.
Others called out the league for not making the right call in the first place:
"Thank you for making the call when it matters. You can always trust NBA officials to do the right thing," one wrote.
"As opposed to it being called that last night. Thanks," another added.
"God forbid they look at it during the game when it actually matters," another wrote.
Memphis Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins and Zach Edey both call out Draymond Green's play following NBA Cup clash
After Friday's NBA Cup game, where Green was ejected in the fourth quarter after picking up back-to-back technical fouls, Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins spoke about the foul on Edey.
Jenkins didn't understand why the officials didn't review the play.
"There was that one play, we were about to start the break and he's been playing really hard to try to outlet, and Draymond grabs his leg and pulls him down and it doesn't get reviewed," he told media members.
"So I know there's a code in this league, and I don't understand how that wasn't reviewed. Very disappointing."
Similarly, Edey questioned how the play wasn't called a flagrant foul, given that it didn't appear to be a basketball play. Had the officials deemed the foul to be flagrant at the time, Memphis would've gotten two shots at the line and the ball back.
Instead, the foul, which was called a transition take foul at the time, saw Memphis get a free throw and the ball back.