NBA Official Embarasses Himself By Letting Draymond Green Berate Him For 40 Seconds Without Blowing Whistle
The Golden State Warriors got a 141-139 road win over the Oklahoma City Thunder Friday night, but not without a fair amount of controversy. Not surprisingly, much of that controversy involved Draymond Green.
In the closing seconds, Golden State guard Steph Curry attempted a floating layup over Thunder forward Chet Holmgren. The ball went it, but it initially was called offensive goaltending because Green made contact with the rim.
After review, the offensive goaltending was overturned — counting Curry's basket and giving the Warriors a 2-point lead with 0.2 seconds left.
The league later explained that reversing the goaltending call was the correct move. Although Green made contact with the rim, he didn't touch the ball.
"In order for contact with the rim to constitute offensive basket interference when the ball is not in the net, it must (a) occur while the ball is sitting or rolling on the rim and using the rim as its lower base, (b) cause the ball to take an unnatural bounce, or (c) move the rim off-center," the NBA officiating report said. "None of those conditions were satisfied on this play, so there was no basket interference."
But that call wasn't the only time Green got some help from the refs.
Draymond Green Throws A Hissy Fit
With 38 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Green lost his cool. He began yelling in an official's face and wildly waving his arms in the air. The tantrum lasted almost 40 seconds.
But no technical foul was called.
"I'm not sure what he's so upset about. And the stuff he gets away with blows my mind," the play-by-player announcer said.
It's just the latest example of Draymond Green getting away with anything and everything on the court. Any other player (except maybe LeBron) would get an immediate tech for that sort of behavior.
And he knows it, too.
"I wear my badge of honor," Green said in 2022. "It's not that I'm saying they necessarily treat me different. I've earned deferential treatment. And I enjoy that. I embrace that."
Green has earned deferential treatment — but that's not necessarily a good thing. See, refs tend to punish a player only for exceeding whatever line he has established himself. Because tantrums are the norm for Green, the officials expect this sort of behavior.
Still, a 40-second tirade is excessive. Even for him.
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