Anna Horford – the sister of Boston Celtics big man Al Horford – urged Golden State Warriors star Draymong Green to retire after his ejection against the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night.
Draymond ejected after his 2nd tech less than 4 min into 1Q 😳 pic.twitter.com/hahXQf2TjR
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 27, 2024
Draymond plays basketball like someone is holding a f*cking gun to his head. Bro, you’ve made plenty of money & have had plenty of success. No one is forcing you to keep playing. Retire & go live your life. Give your spot to someone who needs one. https://t.co/tneWsCwPq4
— Anna Horford (@AnnaHorford) March 28, 2024
Green was ejected early on in the first quarter for arguing with an official, but the Warriors still went on to win the game, keeping them ahead of the Houston Rockets for the No. 10 seed (and final play-in tournament spot) in the Western Conference.
The ejection was Green’s 21st of his NBA career, and it’s not the first time this season that he’s been ejected. Green was suspended twice by the NBA for his actions earlier on this season, most recently missing the Warriors’ games from Dec. 14 through Jan. 13.
He also did not play from Nov. 16 through No. 24 (five games) due to a suspension during the 2023-24 campaign.
Most ejections in NBA history
29: Rasheed Wallace
21: Draymond Green
17: Dwight Howard
16: Charles Barkley & Anthony Mason
14: Shaq & Boogie Cousinspic.twitter.com/hY254cai02— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) March 27, 2024
A four-time champion, Green has allowed his emotions to get the best of him far too often this season, especially with the Warriors in danger of losing out on a chance to compete for a playoff spot. Golden State is 27-20 when Green plays this season, but the team is just 11-14 without him.
Green’s ejection on Wednesday night visibly frustrated his teammate Stephen Curry, who has been playing with Green for the forward’s entire career.
Steph’s reaction to Draymond’s ejection pic.twitter.com/5TH5DYC9w1
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 27, 2024
There’s no doubt that Curry and the Warriors want to make the playoffs, but having Green react in such a manner that gets him thrown out of the game only hurts the team.
Green apologized for his actions on his podcast, but the Warriors star also needs to show that he’s going to change to help the team in the final stretch of the regular season.
“I got ejected four minutes into the game,” Green said. “Just can’t do it, regardless of what was said. I’m not about to get into what was said because that’s irrelevant. To Steph’s point, I have to be on the floor. And whatever that means, you just have to do that. I look at this – I’m not overreacting to this because of everything that happened in the beginning of the season. I feel like, since I’ve returned, everything’s heading in the right direction – hit a little bump in the road, get over it and keep going. I said what I said. I deserved to get kicked out at that point. If I’m all the way honest with y’all, I kind of was trying to turn my body and angle and go to the bench, and I said what I said a little too soon before angling my body to the bench. But yeah, it just can’t happen. We need to win games.”
The Warriors currently hold a one-game lead over the Rockets, who have won 10 games in a row to put themselves back in the play-in tournament picture.
Golden State is hoping that Green can keep his cool on Friday when the team takes on the Charlotte Hornets.
