Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green got into it with a fan sitting courtside on Sunday night after the man kept referring to him as WNBA star Angel Reese.
Green, in the first half of the Warriors†124-106 win over the New Orleans Pelicans, confronted a fan sitting at the Smoothie King Center. That fan, who identified himself as Sam Green to The Associated Press, heckled Green throughout the contest. Then, as players were preparing to line up for a free throw in the first half, Green walked over to the fan and got right up in his face.
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Officials and teammates quickly separated the two. The fan received a warning, Green was not hit with a penalty, and the game continued on normally. The two did not make contact with each other, but they were clearly in a heated discussion.
After the game, Green said that the fan was hitting him with an “Angel Reese†chant. At the time, he had seven rebounds but hadnâ€t attempted a single shot.
“It was a good joke at first, but you canâ€t keep calling me a woman,†Green said, via the San Francisco Chronicle’s Sam Gordon. “Iâ€ve got four kids and one on the way. Canâ€t keep calling me a woman. He got quiet though, so it was fine.â€
Someone pointed out to Green that Reese is one of the best rebounders in the WNBA.
“Yeah for sure, but … Lisa Leslie was a good rebounder too, and sheâ€s older than me,†he replied. “Just donâ€t be disrespectful, itâ€s cool. Weâ€ll move on.â€
Sam Green said he didnâ€t do anything wrong, and that Draymond had used profanity at him and threatened to punch him.
“I wasn’t using profanity, and for him to walk 12 feet off the court to come and get in my face like that, it was a little unnerving,” Sam Green told The Associated Press.
Reese, who dominated at LSU before entering the league, averaged 13.1 rebounds per game as a rookie and 12.6 per game last season with the Chicago Sky. Those led the league both seasons.
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Green finished the night with eight points and 10 rebounds. He went 3-of-13 from the field. The Warriors rolled to the 18-point win without much issue. The Pelicans, led by 20 points from Trey Murphy, fell to 2-11 on the year.
Green has gotten into issues with fans before in his career. He was fined $25,000 in 2022 after he directed “obscene language toward a fan†during a game against the Dallas Mavericks.
“As long as it doesn’t escalate, it’s fine [for a player] to go over and have a discussion,†Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said, via The Associated Press, while declining to really get into the incident specifically. “It would have been nice if security had gotten there a little bit earlier.â€
The Warriors (9-6) have won three straight games. Theyâ€ll take on the Orlando Magic (7-7) next on Tuesday.
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