Draymond Green Says He ‘Lost a Lot of Respect’ For the Player He Stomped on Refusing to Shake His Hand
When the Golden State Warriors won the series-clinching Game 7 against the Sacramento Kings on Sunday, Kings center Domantas Sabonis was absent from the post-game handshakes. Warriors forward Draymond Green took exception to that and let the world know almost immediately.
“Lost a lot of respect for Sabonis,” Green said during an episode of The Draymond Green Show hours after the game. “You don’t shake guys’ hands after you lose? I don’t respect that.”
While Sabonis has yet to comment on his abrupt departure to the locker room when the final buzzer sounded, his recent history with Green may have been a factor. During Game 2 of the Warriors and Kings’ first-round playoff series, Sabonis fell to the ground during play and grabbed Green’s leg, preventing him from running to the other side of the court. Green then stomped on Sabonis’ chest. Sabonis was given a technical foul for the altercation, and Green was ejected after being given a flagrant foul penalty 2. The NBA then gave him a one-game suspension.
When Green returned for Game 4, he and Sabonis were once again at the center of another intense moment. With less than two minutes left in the fourth quarter, Sabonis attempted a layup while the Kings were down by three points. Green blocked it and yelled directly over him as he fell down.
Draymond Green returned from suspension and flexed on Domantas Sabonis after a clutch block 😳
— BasketNews (@BasketNews_com) April 24, 2023
Still, Green called it “wack” for Sabonis to not shake anyone’s hands after the final game.
“I once left the court when we lost in Game 7 to the Cleveland Cavaliers,” Green said. “And I went to my locker room and I sat down and I said, ‘This don’t feel right.’ And I walked back out on the court and I showed everybody love. You lost. Deal with it. Pay your respect.”
