Draymond Green's night ended early in Game 1 after receiving a questionable Flagrant 2 foul which saw him ejected right before half-time of the Warriors' 117-116 win over the Grizzlies.
With 1:18 remaining in the second quarter, Green committed a hard foul on Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke, dragging him to the floor with his left hand after the initial contact.
After a lengthy review, Green was assessed a Flagrant 2 before winding up the Memphis crowd as he departed the game, running around the court waving his hands up and down as a chorus of boos rained down from the stands.
Draymond Green was ejected for this flagrant 2 foul. pic.twitter.com/QPYnODEXt1
— ESPN (@espn) May 1, 2022
Green did not speak with media after the game, but shortly after the final buzzer, he teased on Instagram that an episode of his podcast 'The Draymond Green Show' was on its way.
— warriorsworld (@warriorsworld) May 1, 2022
"We've seen questionable calls in the first round, some things that didn't get reviewed," Green said. "Sometimes I guess it's just a case-by-case thing. It's a reputation thing. I think tonight was probably a reputation thing more so than a hard foul."
The 32-year-old went on to break down that he was more concerned with not accumulating two foul points that could lead to a suspension down the line, hoping that the foul would be reduced to a Flagrant 1. During the 2016 NBA Finals, Green was suspended for one game after accumulating four flagrant foul points, which ultimately proved costly.
"I'm actually dumb enough to think I wasn't gonna get a Flagrant 1. Talk about an idiot. You want to call anybody an idiot, look no further than Draymond Green himself," he continued.
"... I was about to start dancing to the crowd saying 'Kick him out! Kick him out!' to taunt them because it's like, 'Kick him out for that!?' so I was about to start dancing. When I was literally starting to edge up off the scorer's table, something said to me, 'But it's you involved in this play, Draymond. Because it's you involved in this play you probably shouldn't dance because you probably should always expect the unexpected.'"
MORE: Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson come up clutch on defense in Game 1 with Draymond Green out
Meanwhile, Clarke addressed the media postgame, saying that he was not surprised by the foul, citing Green's history, agreeing with the official's call to eject him.
"It’s not shocking that he did that. It’s something he’s done in the past," Clarke said.
"He’s been known for flagrant fouls in his career. I’ve watched him on TV my whole life it feels like, so I wasn’t really shocked."
The Grizzlies will look to bounce back and level the series on their home floor, with Game 2 scheduled for 9:30 p.m. ET at FedEx Forum.
