Draymond Green often faces heavy scrutiny for being involved in many altercations, but no one questions his brotherly allegiance to his Warriors teammates. The 12-year NBA veteran takes flak from no one.
The WNBA's Indiana Fever must take notes from Green and protect one another better, especially rookie and former Iowa basketball star Caitlin Clark.
On Saturday, Golden State’s bruiser was blunt about the topic in an Instagram comment section.
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Draymond Green has entered the chat… #WNBA pic.twitter.com/aiPXGnSFmm
— Vanshay Murdock 🎥🎥 (@VanshayM) June 1, 2024
Green was referring to Clark being on the wrong end of a flagrant-1 foul from Sky guard Chennedy Carter in Indiana and Chicago's Saturday matchup.
The play has sparked much discussion across social media and inspired Green to comment on the Fever franchise.
The WNBA confirmed that Chennedy Carter’s foul on Caitlin Clark from yesterday’s game has been upgraded to a Flagrant 1, per @alexaphilippou.pic.twitter.com/o7QzaFRkL5
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) June 2, 2024
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Green knows what it’s like to be on both ends of a cheap shot. The four-time NBA All-Star has earned 150 technical fouls and 19 ejections throughout his storied career, and during the 2023-24 NBA season alone, Green was dealt four ejections, 13 techs and two suspensions.
He missed 27 Warriors games this past season, with 16 of them being because of on-court altercations. Green also missed much of Golden State’s game against the Orlando Magic after being ejected from the Kia Center floor in the first quarter.
Draymond was ejected for this pair of technical fouls in the first quarter ... pic.twitter.com/Nm3htPW6GT
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 27, 2024
Green advises the Fever to find a player with an energy similar to his to defend Clark. As the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, Clark has a target on her back from rival veterans -- It’s just part of the gig.
Carter told reporters after the game: “I ain’t answering no Caitlin Clark questions" (h/t NBC 5 Chicago), but later questioned Clark’s basketball abilities outside of her 3-point shooting in a post on Threads.
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) June 2, 2024
Green has earned battle wounds -- and four NBA championships -- while defending himself and his Golden State teammates.
He believes Indiana would be wise to protect the 22-year-old Clark.