In 2016, the Cleveland Cavaliers pulled off one of the biggest upsets in professional sports history led by the future Hall of Famer LeBron James. The underdog Cavs took down the mighty Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals in an epic series for the ages.
Arguably the Cavs’ biggest turning point in that series with the Warriors was when Draymond Green was suspended for Game 5 due to an altercation with James. Green will be haunted by that suspension forever, but now he says another ejection will haunt him even more.
Green was ejected from Saturday’s game against the Charlotte Hornets, and that ejection bothers him more than the suspension in the Finals with the Cavs.
Draymond on his ejection from Saturday's loss vs Charlotte: "That whole situation bothered me more than being suspended from Game 5 of the NBA Finals in 2016." @kron4news #warriors pic.twitter.com/1k89zoIwta
— Kate Rooney (@TheKateRooney) February 22, 2021
Green is like many fiery athletes who have come before him in the NBA, such as Dennis Rodman and Metta Sandiford-Artest. He clearly regrets his actions in Saturday’s game against the Hornets and that he should.
The Warriors had the game in hand, and even though it took some late-game heroics by Terry Rozier for Charlotte to come out on top, the three-time NBA champion allowed them to get the win over Golden State.
Draymond just got ejected after double tech 😳 pic.twitter.com/igUr1XQd0J
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) February 21, 2021
Green’s actions cost the Warriors the game, with the Hornets able to come out with the two-point win. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr wasn’t happy with his veteran forward lashing out and ultimately costing the team the game.
Steve Kerr criticizes the official's decision to reward Charlotte a timeout instead of a jumpball, but: "Draymond can't do that. He knows that. He made a terrible mistake getting T'd up."
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) February 21, 2021
Although Green apologized and regretted his actions, he clearly still hasn’t learned to temper his emotions in crucial situations.
