The Warriors came away with a comfortable victory against the Magic tonight as they beat them 120-97 at the Chase Center. Among several talking points from the game, a noteworthy one was the heated debate that was caught on camera between Steve Kerr and Draymond Green on the Warriors’ bench.
Draymond gets sent to the lockers after heated debate w coach Kerr pic.twitter.com/hJ2KRuzawX
— clipside (@shubhydoo) December 23, 2025
During the third quarter of the game, Green was subbed out of the game and was recorded getting into a heated debate with the Warriors’ head coach, Steve Kerr. After Kerr stopped addressing Draymond directly, he got up and walked to their locker room.
While Green returned to the bench later in the game, he did not come back into the action in the fourth quarter. He only played 18 minutes tonight and had nine points. seven rebounds, and two assists while shooting 4-of-5 from the field (80%).
Steve Kerr spoke to the media after the game and said Green had only gone to the locker room to cool off.
“We got into it obviously… We had it out, he decided to go back to the locker room to cool off, and that’s all I’m going to say about it.” But when he was asked why Green did not return in the game, Kerr simply said, “He left. He went back to the locker room, and we moved on.”
Green was reportedly still actively involved in team huddles; therefore, it’s not a major red flag for the Warriors. However, this disagreement shows that Kerr might finally be holding Green accountable for his lapses on the floor.
The Warriors’ veteran has prided his entire career on his defensive abilities. But now, it seems that even defensively, Green’s not impacting significantly on the floor anymore.
In the 14 years he has been in the NBA, he’s had the third-worst season of his career in terms of defensive rating (110.5) this year. The last time he had a positive net (+/-) rating in a Warriors game was a month ago in November. The Warriors are 2-5 in the games he has played in just in December.
If Kerr can hold Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield accountable for playing badly, it seems like he did the same with Draymond Green tonight. But since it is not clear what was said between the duo, we cannot conclusively say how this impacts the locker room atmosphere in the near future.
Green has reportedly found himself among the potential trade rumors as well for the Warriors, and maybe he just now has to accept that his best days with the Golden State are behind him.
The Warriors have now improved their season record to 15-15 and move on to face the Mavericks on Thursday. They are currently the eighth seed in the Western Conference.
Meanwhile, the Magic have fallen to 16-13 for the season. As the sixth seed in the East, they will face the Trail Blazers in their next game tomorrow.
