Draymond Green bit his tongue after winning the NBA Finals and it shocked everyone ? pic.twitter.com/wp6IYJa9DL
— KNBR (@KNBR) June 13, 2017
The 2017 Golden State Warriors were a walking fireworks show, and on Monday night, the world witnessed their grand finale.
The Warriors’ 129-120 win over the Cavaliers capped off the franchise’s second title run in three seasons, and left NBA fans in a frenzy after Golden State exacted revenge on LeBron James’ Cleveland squad.
One of the most consistent parts of the Warriors’ on-court theatrics this season was the encore that often followed the on-court show, and quite often, that encore was sparked by Draymond Green.
In Green’s five-year NBA career, the outspoken forward out of Michigan State has developed a reputation for saying anything at any time –to the media, to referees, and even to his opponents.
A player who once told Paul Pierce, “They don’t love you like Kobe,” has become the NBA’s most coveted quote, and after taking down James, Kyrie Irving and a Cavaliers’ team that ripped his heart out in the 2016 NBA Finals, the ensuing encore Green would almost assuredly provide after Monday’s victory was the most anticipated of his young career.
But after the fireworks faded and the lights came back on, Green never flared up.
And perhaps we should have expected that.
After all, lightning doesn’t strike the same place twice, and Green already made his mark on the NBA Finals.
It was a year ago, when the Warriors were up 3-1, that Green was suspended for a pivotal Game 5 that the Warriors ended up losing on their home floor at Oracle Arena, and it’s a game Green will struggle to live down for the rest of his career.
After accumulating his fourth flagrant foul point in the playoffs for retaliating after James stepped over him in the Warriors’ Game 4 victory, Green was forced to the sidelines for Game 5, and Cleveland gained an edge.
Even though Green poured in 32 points, 15 rebounds and his entire soul into the Game 7 of the series, Irving drained a late three-pointer to send the Cavaliers to an improbable victory that taught Green a lesson he wouldn’t soon forget.
While Green was just as much of a firecracker during the 2016-2017 regular season as he has been for most of his career, Green was subdued for much of this season’s playoffs, only earning his first technical foul in Game 4 of the NBA Finals after arguing with an official following a third quarter foul call.
A full year after Green was widely criticized for kicking Oklahoma City forward Steven Adams in an area that’s, well, rather unpleasant to be kicked in, Green was able to maintain his aggressive edge, without losing his cool. A player who developed a reputation for flailing his legs at unnecessary moments and offering opponents’ bulletin board material during media sessions was more calm and collected in this year’s NBA Finals, whether we acknowledge it or not.
The enormity of the moment was not lost on Green, nor was it lost on the Warriors, who suffered one of the most embarrassing playoff collapses in sports history last season.
So when Green hit the podium to reflect after Monday’s victory, we saw a preview of the encore everyone anticipated, and we also saw Draymond Green, a potentially changed man.
“I did like this state of the Union address, like I’m going to say this, I’m going to say that, I was going to bash everybody who talked junk,” Green said. “I felt like R.J. (Richard Jefferson) was talking junk the whole series to the media, J.R. (Smith) said some things, I’m like, man, I’m going to bash everybody. But then, nah, that’s a championship team. They stepped up. The entire season they were great. And you got to give those guys a lot of credit.”
While the Cavaliers commanded Green’s respect, surely, his daily enemies, NBA officials, couldn’t escape unscathed. But again, this was not the Draymond Green we’re accustomed to seeing.
“Right along with that with the calls, like, that’s basketball,” Green said. “Sometimes the calls just don’t go your way. Usually when a team isn’t aggressive, like everybody said in Game 4, like that was the worst officiating I’ve ever seen. But they were one of the most aggressive teams I had ever played against. So usually when you’re aggressive, the calls go your way.”
A year after Green’s antics were considered one of the primary reasons for Golden State’s demise, it was Green’s defense, selflessness and hard-nosed attitude on the court that were praised as reasons for the Warriors’ success.
Is this the new Green, or did this year’s Finals just happen to accentuate Green’s best qualities at a pivotal point in his career? Only time will tell, but when it’s all said and done, Green will look back on 2017 without a single regret, which is something he couldn’t say at this time last year.