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Paul Pierce explains his side of Draymond Green's viral 'they don't love you like that' trash talk

Kyle Irving

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Paul Pierce explains his side of Draymond Green's viral 'they don't love you like that' trash talk image

Draymond Green is known as one of the best trash talkers in the modern-day NBA.

Among all the things he has said that were picked up by on-court microphones, no moment has caught fire more than his barking at Paul Pierce back in 2017.

Pierce was hardly playing in the final season of his career with the Clippers. Brought on to bring championship DNA to a team that desperately needed to get over the hump, Pierce only averaged 2.8 minutes over 25 games.

But sitting on the bench didn't stop Green from getting into it with the 39-year-old veteran.

During a national TV game on TNT between the Warriors and Clippers, Green was caught by the basket microphone as he screamed at Pierce on LA's sidelines while Blake Griffin shot free throws.

"Chasing that farewell tour, they don't love you like that! You can't get no farewell tour, they don't love you like that! You ain't got that type of love. You thought you was Kobe?" Green yelled at Pierce.

The clip immediately went viral on social media and still pops up pretty frequently to this day.

Green and Pierce never confronted each other publicly about the moment until this week, when The Truth hopped on "The Draymond Green Show" to hash things out.

MORE: Draymond Green shares his take on Wemby's DPOY case

Paul Pierce explains his side of Draymond Green's viral 'they don't love you like that' moment

Before the podcast could even get underway, Pierce had to clear the air on the viral moment.

"I gotta address your viral s— talking, first off. You done said your side of it, but I ain't had a chance to say my side of it yet," Pierce began.

"We go into the game, and I'm just seeing how you guarding Blake [Griffin] and I'm like, 'Damn, he be hella physical and he pushing on him,' and I'm like, 'What the f— going on, man? Hold on, Blake! Bust his a—, man. Hell nah. You can't let him do that,'" Pierce started as Green laughed.

"Everybody know [Draymond] the head of the snake. And if you got at the head of the snake, you got a shot. ... I want everybody to know this is what we on this year.

".. You said what you said, right? And to be honest, I didn't hear what you said. People don't know this, but the microphone underneath the basket pick up everything," Pierce continued.

"... Honestly, I didn't even hear what you said until after the game. I'm looking at my Twitter like, 'Oh, damn! He went back at me."

MORE: The biggest question facing each of NBA's title contenders

Pierce concluded his side of the story by admitting his admiration for Green's authentic character on the court.

"I love the fact you stay true to who you are because even before you won, you was like that."

Seven years later, maybe Green has "that type of love" for Pierce now.

Kyle Irving

Kyle Irving Photo

You read that wrong – not Kyrie Irving. From Boston, graduated from the University of New Hampshire. Sixth season as a content producer for NBA.com's Global editions. Covering the NBA Draft has become his annual "dream come true" moment on the job. Irving has a soft spot for pass-first point guards, with Rajon Rondo and Steve Nash being two of his favorite players of all time.