The 2026 Play-In Tournament has been something of a greatest hits album for Draymond Green. In Wednesday’s win over the Los Angeles Clippers, Green turned back the clock and delivered one of the better postseason defensive performances we’ve seen in years. He locked down Kawhi Leonard in the fourth quarter and came up with multiple huge steals to help secure a Golden State Warriors victory.
But Friday’s loss to the Phoenix Suns represented the other constant of Green’s career: his battles with the officials. With Golden State trailing by double digits with 1:06 remaining on the clock, Green sent Devin Booker to the line with a tough foul. Green subbed out of the game after the foul, but the two kept talking afterward, because crew chief Scott Foster ejected both with 1:04 on the clock.
As Green left the court, he egged the crowd on by signaling for more noise.
Green has quite a history of postseason discipline. He was infamously suspended for Game 5 of the 2016 NBA Finals for accumulating too many flagrant foul points over the course of the playoffs. In 2022, he was ejected from Game 1 of Golden State’s second-round series against the Memphis Grizzlies for committing a flagrant-2 foul on Brandon Clarke. In 2023, he was suspended for Game 3 of Golden State’s first-round series against the Sacramento Kings for stomping on the chest of Domantas Sabonis.
Friday’s ejection was the least consequential instance of Green getting punished for his on-court conduct. The game was decided. The season was functionally over for the Warriors, as this was an elimination Play-In game.
Yet the league could easily look at this, given his track record, and consider a possible fine for his conduct as he exited the game. Getting ejected is one thing. Making a spectacle of the situation is another.
The NBA has made it clear that it considers his prior disciplinary history in more serious cases, so it wouldn’t be terribly surprising if Green heard from the league office following his early exit.
