Some of the most discussion around specific behavior from fans in a while came around Boston Celtics‘ fans chanting “F*** you, Draymond” at Golden State Warriors‘ forward Draymond Green during Game 3 of the NBA Finals. That provoked post-game criticism from the likes of Green’s teammate Klay Thompson, his coach Steve Kerr, and his wife Renee Green, and it sparked a debate on profane chants in general.
As for what happened on the court, Green struggled in Game 3 and Game 4 (where his performance was even trolled by his mother, Mary Babers-Green), part of his overall early Finals’ offensive struggles against the Celtics’ defense. But he had a terrific game in the Warriors’ title-clinching victory in Game 6 Thursday night, posting 12 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists while being a defensive force (and even hitting a three-pointer after starting the series 0-12 from deep.) And, in the locker room championship celebration afterwards, some of Green’s teammates used that chant themselves, as Warriors’ guard Moses Moody’s live stream of the locker room showed:
The Warriors chanted “F— Draymond” in the locker room 😭
(via @mosesmoody) pic.twitter.com/arBUaDamMU
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 17, 2022
Some of the Warriors’ players discussed that with media afterwards, as Kurt Helin of Pro Basketball Talk relays:
“Fun moment. Draymond been yelling at us all year, too,” Kevon Looney said while laughing after the game.
“It’s our joke, too,” Otto Porter Jr. said.
Green loved hearing it from his teammates. He was happier not to listen to it from the crowd during Game 6.
“I said what better time than to put it together tonight. I don’t think I heard “F*** you, Draymond” all night. They couldn’t,” Green said after the game. “So, you know, it’s easy to chant “F*** you” when somebody is having a bad game, but can’t you do that when they’re having a great game? I didn’t hear much of it tonight. Maybe I was just that locked in.”
Meanwhile, Green (seen above during the fourth quarter of Thursday’s game) also vowed to continue doing his podcast despite some of the criticism that’s taken. And it looks like he’ll keep going back and forth with media and fans as well, so there may be some more sincere “F*** you, Draymond” chants ahead for him. But it was definitely funny to see Warriors’ players reclaim that for their own purposes Thursday.
[Pro Basketball Talk; photo from Kyle Terada/USA Today Sports]
