Many people consider that Draymond Green’s suspension during the 2016 NBA Finals played a crucial role in the Golden State Warriors’ collapse against the Cleveland Cavaliers in that series. The defensive specialist wasn’t as mature as he is right now, and didn’t hesitate to get on people’s faces to assert his dominance.
During Game 4 of that series, Green went at it with LeBron James and hit him in the groin, which cost him a one-game suspension. After the Dubs took a 3-1 lead, they never won a game again, becoming the first team that blew such a lead for the first time in the Finals.
It’s been almost six years since that moment and people still remember it. In a recent edition of ‘The Old Man and the Three’ podcast, JJ Redick asked Green about that altercation with LeBron, and the player accused James of persuading him into his reaction (1:00:42 mark).
“The only thing that may have changed is I’m not sure I would react the same in the moment, just because I have grown as a person,” Green said, via Cavaliers Nation. “I don’t regret reacting the way I reacted in the moment because the only reason I can’t promise you that I wouldn’t react that way because if somebody steps over my shoulder, I’m naturally going to try to get you off my shoulder. That’s just who I am, man.”
“I can’t promise you that I wouldn’t react the same way, but what I do know is I think LeBron coaxed me into that,” Green said. “And I know for sure today he couldn’t coax me into that.”
Despite the big backlash the Warriors received after losing that series, Green thinks it happened for the best. They wouldn’t have gotten benefits from that and their next two seasons could have been different if it wasn’t for that loss.
“I don’t regret it because s— happens, and I learned so much from that, and if we do win that series, I don’t think we get Kevin Durant,” Green said. “And if we don’t get Kevin Durant, I’m not sure our run would have continued.”
After that series, the Warriors decided to pursue a deal for Kevin Durant, which they did in the summer. Green, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson helped recruit the 2014 NBA MVP, who would become a 2x NBA champion in 2017 and 2018.
Things could have been a lot different for the Dubs if that incident between Green and James never took place, but Draymond has no regrets about it. The Dubs became the biggest force in the league after that and not even LeBron could stop them.
