There’s a reason why professional wrestling has remained popular for decades, even though the action is scripted. The company understands that to sell a story, you need a hero and a heel. Cheering is fun, but making fun is cathartic. In team sports, the heel is automatically included like the charger for a new phone. You support your favorite team against all others. However, some heels transcend just competing in another city’s jersey.
Players like Draymond Green have the ability to become everyone’s least favorite player who doesn’t support the Warriors of the Golden State – or is from Saginaw, Michigan.
Green’s antics absolutely annoy me. THE groin kick bothered me a lot. Additionally, with the exception of his press conference after the video of him punching Jordan Poole went viral last season, Green is never quick to apologize when his aggression objectively goes too far. Even with these flaws, I appreciate his value to the NBA product. Without players willing to put Rudy Gobert in a headlock while surrounded by television cameras, the NBA would be a lot less interesting.
This act will cost Green almost a million dollars. On Wednesday evening, the NBA announced that Green would be suspended for next five Warriors games. Sure, grabbing Rudy Gobert by the neck deserves punishment in itself, but just like when Green was suspended during the playoffs for trample Domantas Sabonisthe NBA gave him a lifetime achievement award.
Anyone who thinks an NBA sanction in 2023 will cause Green to change his reckless behavior toward opponents is sorely mistaken. He was suspended for one game in the NBA Finals seven years ago. A game in which the Warriors could have eliminated LeBron James and Cleveland Cavaliers. Instead, that 73-9 team ended up losing in seven games to a team in which Tristan Thompson and 35-year-old Richard Jefferson were among the Cavs’ top five in minutes played.
No suspension or fine will change the way Green plays basketball. He was ejected from a game against the Cavaliers on Saturday. Subsequently, he posted on Instagram, “Don’t take technology… blah blah blah. 12 years later and you’re still trying to teach me to be ME? »
He is right. Green punched a teammate in the face during practice last season and the video was leaked. The player he hit had recently signed a contract worth over $100 million. Poole will spend the 2023-24 season with the Wizards of Washingtonand the Warriors signed Green to a second four-year, $100 million contract during the offseason.
His team appreciates him and so do I. For the NBA to be at its best, there has to be a player who is the physical equivalent of “I know a song that pisses everyone off.” Green’s aggression and limited concern for his opponents’ well-being made him a star. Stephen Curry’s legendary offensive production is the main reason for the Warriors’ dynasty, but without Green’s aggressiveness, they couldn’t win four championships in eight seasons.
Green knows his role with the Warriors and he has been exceptional in it. This role begins with his defensive and offensive play. To be an NBA player, especially an important one, expert basketball aptitude is required. Bill Laimbeer was named an All-Star four times with the Detroit Pistons. Three of them were in a row and the Pistons have only won one playoff series during that stretch. He won them without a championship bump.
Dennis Rodman won Defensive Player of the Year in 1990 and 1991, several years before he first dyed his hair. To be a true heel in the NBA, players must be able to do much more than time their opponent.
Green is quotable, knowledgeable and unrepentant about the way he plays. I don’t think it really bothers the NBA. He is part of the league Ocean 11 advertisement for a play-in tournament.
The league knows it needs its own version of Triple H to maximize interest. No one is currently better in this role than Green. As reprehensible as his behavior was, TMZ leaked this viral video of him punching Poole that benefited everyone who makes money from the NBA. Green’s name resonates far beyond my favorite NBA nerd podcasts.
He was out of line Tuesday when he put Gobert in a chokehold, but the league would be a worse place without that kind of antics. Sometimes All-Star caliber players also have to be hated by fans for a bigger reason than just wearing a different jersey.
When there’s a consensus that one of the best players in the league is a regular lineman, that’s all the more reason to watch the game. Admiring Curry is great, but being mad at Green is a spice that makes NBA food taste better.
I have no qualms about the league suspending Green for five games. He deserves it. Players must not stifle their opposition. This is a ridiculous way to behave and deserves severe punishment.
However, if Green didn’t behave this way, the NBA would be a lot less entertaining.