For the most part, the NBA is a strictly visual experience. Fans watch the games play out from afar and either root for or against a certain team.
Occasionally, though, some fans decide to get even more immersed in the experience by talking and speaking directly to the players themselves.
In these NBA Finals, we have seen that happen first-hand with Draymond Green, who got blasted by the Boston crowd in Game 3. Instead of scolding the fans for their behavior, NBA commissioner Adam Silver defended them and noted how much he loves the energy they bring to the game:
“I love the energy Boston fans bring to the game,” said Silver. “I want fans to enjoy themselves, of course, from the league office, you want to see it done with respect, but I get it.”
It’s obviously not fun for the players to have to endure the verbal assault from fans during games, but they need to accept that it’s just a part of the experience.
For people like Draymond Green, they actually feed off the noise and use it as fuel to bring out their best:
“So, for me, I don’t make much of it,” said Draymond on the trash talk. “My baby girl, she probably can’t make out what they’re saying, and then for DJ, who can… This is what it is. This is what you got. Like I said before, he said he was going to be a coach, maybe that’s you one day that they’re yelling at like that. But you see your dad go through it, and we’re ok… Yes my family is livid, and trust me I get it. But for me, who’s raising a young black man in America, for him to understand how America works, as opposed to how they say America works, that was just another example of it. ‘F**K DRAYMOND! F**K DRAYMOND’. F**k you too.”
Celtics fans have always been known for being rowdy and passionate. Boston is a legendary sports town, and they have never been shy about supporting their team, and it’s only fitting that they be especially loud as their squad returns to the Finals for the first time in over a decade.
Clearly, that sort of energy is good for the league, and Adam Silver is all about it.
