Fred VanVleet called out Draymond Green for kicking his Houston Rockets teammate Steven Adams in the groin during an appearance on The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis. VanVleet was on the episode release on Wednesday and hilariously interjected when Green claimed there’s mutual respect between him and Adams,
Draymond Green: “Me and Steven Adams don’t really get into it much, man. I think there’s a mutual respect there.”
Fred VanVleet: “Didn’t you kick my mans in the nuts, man?”
Green: “Listen, number one, I was selling a call. I was selling a call, and I got it.”
VanVleet: “You kicked my dawg in the nuts man, come on with that s***.”
Green: “I really tried to (sell the call) you know what I’m saying?”
VanVleet: “They changed the rule ’cause of you.”
Green: “Yeah, they did. I get kicked all the time, and then the rule is never acted on when I get kicked. I get kicked all the time, and they be like, ‘Whelp, common foul.’ No, I know there’s a rule. It’s created for me.”
Draymond: Me and Steven Adams don’t really get into it much… I think there’s a mutual respect there
Fred VanVleet: Didn’t you kick my man in the nuts?
Dray: I was selling the call
Fred: you kicked my dawg in the nuts man, c’mon with that sh*t 😂 pic.twitter.com/TvslMwUdL5
— Steven Adams Stats (@funakistats) November 8, 2024
Green infamously hit Adams in the groin twice during the 2016 Western Conference Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Oklahoma City Thunder. In Game 2, he kneed the big man in the groin, and in Game 3, he delivered that unforgettable (for all the wrong reasons) kick.
Green was assessed a flagrant one for that second hit on the groin. The next day, the NBA upgraded it to a flagrant two and fined him $25,000. The league also put in a new rule, as VanVleet and Green stated.
“Offensive players may not extend any part of their body unnaturally into their opponent. Note also that if the ensuing contact is unnecessary and/or excessive, a flagrant foul may be assessed.”
While Green got away with these kicks on Adams during this series, he eventually paid the price for them. He would go on to hit LeBron James in the groin in Game 4 of the 2016 NBA Finals and was suspended for Game 5 due to an accumulation of flagrant fouls.
We have seen Green do much worse on the court in the years that have followed, ranging from a chokehold to a stomp to a hit to the head, but he hasn’t had any notable groin shots. Perhaps he learned his lesson in that regard.
Funnily enough, Green and the Warriors will be taking on the Thunder next at Paycom Center on Sunday at 7 PM ET. Hopefully, he won’t hit any of their current bigs in the groin in that contest.
Steven Adams Doesn’t Think Draymond Green Intentionally Hit Him In The Groin
Adams has been asked about Green hitting him in the groin in the past and he doesn’t think they were intentional hits. During an appearance on the Lowe Post podcast, the New Zealander stated he believed Green was trying to sell a call when asked if it was done on purpose.
“That’s a tough one,” Adams said. “It is. That’s a tough one… Nah, nah, he didn’t… I think he wanted to flail — he intentionally wanted to flail — but I don’t think (he thought), ‘Let me just pinpoint, accurate, shin right into old mate’s crown jewels.’ I don’t think he thought that. I thought he was like, ‘Ah, there’s contact, flail, bang.’ Twice in the same series.”
Adams then wildly claimed that he didn’t know Green was suspended in the Finals. I find that hard to believe with how big of a story that was, but I am certainly not brave enough to call the big man a liar.
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