Draymond Green and Collin Gillespie got into a heated back-and-forth during the Warriors’ last matchup with the Suns, which ended in a 119-116 win for the Golden State.
Just a few minutes into the second quarter, Draymond Green was ejected from the game for seemingly intentionally pushing Suns guard Collin Gillespie while tracking back on defense. Even Warriors’ head coach Steve Kerr was given a technical foul during this incident.
The Suns guard spoke to the media following their practice before facing the Lakers. He explained what happened that led to Green’s ejection.
“I didn’t even get under his skin. Like, he said something to me, and I said something back to him,” explained Gillespie.
“And I don’t know if he thought I wasn’t going to respond to what he said to me? I’m 26 years old, I’m a grown man. I’m not going to just let somebody call me a name and then not say anything back.”
“I didn’t really get under his skin. I just said what he said back to me, and that was it, and then he freaked out, so I don’t really know,” Gillespie further added.
The media further inquired about what he really said to Draymond Green.
“I can’t say. You could probably put it together, but I can’t say it in the media. I just said, ‘Don’t talk to me like that.’ That’s all I said. It wasn’t crazy, and I used the terminology he used.”
“I think he was more mad at the ref, and that’s why he got his second tech. I didn’t really have a problem with how he hit me, or when he ran into me, or what he said to me. But that’s just basketball at the end of the day,” he concluded on what caused the ejection.
Draymond Green walked off the court with just four points, three rebounds, one assist, one steal, and one block while shooting 2-of-2 from the floor.
“A b***h! Don’t pull that sh** white boy,” Green was seen yelling at Gillespie after the second technical foul.
For context:
“WHITE BOY! B***! DON’T PULL THAT S***, WHITE BOY!”
What Draymond Green yelled at Phoenix Suns guard Collin Gillespie after Draymond shoved him & got ejected 👀🗣️
Thoughts? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/izj35DbtdY
— Courtside Buzz (@CourtsideBuzzX) December 23, 2025
Green got his fifth and sixth technical fouls of the season. Considering that the NBA rulebook says players are to be fined $2,000 for their first five technical fines and $3,000 for their next five, Green was fined $5,000 as a result of this incident.
This was the first of two consecutive outbursts we saw from Draymond Green. The initial one against the Suns and then subsequently against the Magic, when he was recorded in a heated debate with Steve Kerr on the sidelines during a timeout.
It is increasingly becoming evident that Draymond Green is letting his frustrations boil over on the Warriors. It will be interesting to see how the Warriors resolve this tension in their locker room.
