Houston Rockets star Alperen Sengun caused a stir recently with his comments about the tense first-round series against the Golden State Warriors in the 2025 playoffs. Sengun claimed the Warriors got away with fouling a lot and were still crying, and Draymond Green has now reacted to the comment on Threads.
“Hold that L”
Green wasn’t done after firing that shot. The four-time All-Star later stated that someone from the losing team shouldn’t have said this.
“That’s a tough thing to say after you lose… You have to win to stuff like that.”
The officiating was a big talking point throughout that series, and much of the complaining did come from the Warriors. The reason? Well, the Rockets were allowed to play extremely physical defense on Stephen Curry.
Jimmy Butler had voiced his frustration over Curry not getting calls after a regular-season game between the teams in early April. The two-time MVP had scored just three points that night against the Rockets, and Butler was stunned that fouls weren’t being called despite the kind of defense that was being played.
Those frustrations remained for the Warriors come the playoffs, and Dillon Brooks then managed to make matters worse. Curry had been dealing with an injured right thumb, and Brooks appeared to intentionally hit the area.
Rather than deny any wrongdoing, Brooks admitted to targeting the injured thumb as well. He later stated that Curry should play tennis if he doesn’t want contact. All of this just added a bit more spice to a matchup that didn’t need it.
The Warriors would go up 3-1 in the series, but the Rockets managed to storm back and tie things up at 3-3. A stunning comeback appeared to be on the cards, but it wasn’t to be. The Warriors won Game 7 103-89 to knock out the Rockets and advance to the Western Conference Semifinals.
Green finished the series with averages of 8.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game. He trolled the Rockets afterwards, with this being the fifth time in a row that they had been knocked out by his Warriors in the postseason.
Unfortunately for Green, the Warriors wouldn’t go much further in the playoffs either. They lost in five games to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Conference Semifinals. Curry suffered a hamstring strain in Game 1 and didn’t play for the rest of the series, which doomed the Warriors.
While the season ended in disappointment, Green did at least make the All-Defensive First Team. The 35-year-old remains one of the best in the business and will be backing himself to make the team again next season.
It will also be quite interesting to see how much of this tension between the Warriors and Rockets carries over to 2025-26. The Rockets’ acquiring former Warrior Kevin Durant this offseason has also added another wrinkle to this rivalry. Green and Durant have had their differences, and all of this just sets the stage beautifully for more drama.
