May 18, 2022; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) before game one of the 2022 western conference finals against the Dallas Mavericks at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
The Golden State Warriors wrapped up the NBA Finals in six games, but that didn’t stop Draymond Green from making a joke about Game 7.
Game 7 of the NBA Finals, had the Celtics won Thursday, would’ve been scheduled for Sunday. On Sunday, Green jokingly said on social media that he was preparing for the non-existent winner-take-all contest.
“Getting ready for Game 7 tonight,” Green wrote on Twitter. “Happy Father’s Day.”
Getting ready for Game 7 tonight… 🔒in!!! Happy Father’s Day
Green’s tweet was just the latest example of his outspokenness following the Warriors’ fourth championship in the last eight years. He’s been involved in a Twitter feud with Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant over the past few days. Morant claimed that the Grizzlies occupy real estate in the Warriors’ minds after Klay Thompson called out Memphis’ Jaren Jackson Jr. for a tweet Jackson wrote during the regular season. Green responded, saying that the Warriors were only concerned with Boston real estate after winning the NBA title at TD Garden. Morant then replied that he wants the Warriors to come to Memphis for a Christmas Day matchup next season.
While the NBA season is now over, it doesn’t seem like Green will stop trolling his and the Warriors’ critics anytime soon. If the trash talk between the two teams continues into next season, it will make their first matchup — whether on Christmas Day or beforehand — must-see television.
February 23, 2020; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Andrew Wiggins (22) warms up before the game against the New Orleans Pelicans at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Andrew Wiggins definitely appears to be making the most of his first title.
A hilarious photo of the Golden State Warriors star Wiggins went viral this weekend. Klay Thompson had posted a celebration picture with Warriors teammates Wiggins and Juan Toscano-Anderson to his Instagram Story. In the picture, Wiggins looked extremely run down, perhaps from celebrating too hard.
My man Wiggs hanging on for dear life. He need a power nap before the parade 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/2CIsII5nwb
— Warriors NBA Champions!! | Historical Context (@markjkatz76) June 19, 2022
Wiggins has certainly earned the right to party hard. He was arguably the Warriors’ second-most important player (behind Steph Curry) during the Finals, posting 18.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game over the six contests while also playing some A+ defense on Jayson Tatum. Golden State likely does not have a championship to celebrate right now without Wiggins.
Granted, the Warriors won the title on Thursday, that picture was posted on Saturday, and the team’s parade is not until Monday. That means Wiggins still has a bit more energy to save for the next couple days. But considering his up-in-the-air future heading into the offseason, Wiggins is celebrating exactly how he should be celebrating right now.
Mar 20, 2022; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr encourages his players during the fourth quarter against the San Antonio Spurs at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports
The Golden State Warriors may have to be wary of a team in their own division this offseason.
Veteran NBA writer Marc Stein reported this week in a post to Substack that the Sacramento Kings are among the teams said to be interested in signing Warriors big man Kevon Looney. Stein also mentions the Charlotte Hornets as a team with potential interest.
The 26-year-old Looney does not quite pop out in the stat sheet with modest averages of 6.0 points and 7.3 rebounds per game this year. But he remains one of Golden State’s most important players because of his multi-purpose defense and hard work on the glass on both ends. Looney has now played a crucial role on three of the Warriors’ title teams, and Warriors coach Steve Kerr even admitted recently that he erred by not playing Looney enough.
The Kings do figure to be a non-insignificant threat to sign Looney though. Located less than 100 miles away, the Kings won’t be too much of a lifestyle change for him, and they are also going to be coached by longtime Warriors assistant Mike Brown starting next season. While Sacramento might not be contending for a title any time this millennium, that may be less important for Looney than money and touches since he already has three rings.
Once they have come down from their championship high, the Warriors will have some major things to consider this summer, perhaps even the trade of a core player. But they might also have to ward away the vultures when it comes to the unrestricted free agent Looney.
The NBA season may be over, but there could be a budding rivalry growing between the Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies.
After the Warriors won the NBA championship on Thursday, Klay Thompson called out Memphis’ Jaren Jackson Jr. for a tweet sent during the regular season (video here). Grizzlies reporter KJ Wright responded Friday to Thompson’s comment, saying that the Grizzlies were “really out here living rent free” in the heads of the Warriors. Morant agreed, adding that the Grizzlies likely had “a lot of real estate” in the Warriors’ minds.
Draymond Green rarely misses an opportunity to take a shot at opponents, and he took to Twitter Saturday to respond to Morant.
“We traded that real estate in @JaMorant the property value was higher in Boston,” Green wrote.
Green’s retort may have closed the book on this brief Twitter spat. Morant and the Grizzlies can argue about how much space they occupy in the Warriors’ minds, but the Warriors have the ultimate response. They are NBA champions and eliminated the Grizzlies in the second round on their way to winning their fourth title in eight years.
May 24, 2022; Dallas, Texas, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) reacts after a play against the Dallas Mavericks during the first quarter in game four of the 2022 Western Conference finals at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
The Golden State Warriors are throwing the Internet a bone after their latest NBA championship win.
Warriors star Draymond Green took some time this week to acknowledge a popular online theory about the team’s title victories. The theory, which had circulated during the earlier rounds of the playoffs, suggested that Golden State wins the championship in every year that rapper Kendrick Lamar releases a new album.
Lamar dropped “To Pimp A Butterfly” in 2015 followed by “Damn” in 2017, “Black Panther: The Album” in 2018, and his latest project “Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers” just last month. The Warriors went on to win the title in every single one of those years.
Granted, there are a few holes in the theory. For one, it does not account for Lamar’s albums “Section.80” (which was released in 2011) and “Good Kid, M.A.A.D City” (2012). For another, the theory includes “Black Panther: The Album,” a movie soundtrack that features other artists besides Lamar, but excludes Lamar’s 2016 solo compilation album “Untitled, Unmastered.”
Nevertheless, Green and the Warriors are happy to show love to Lamar for any role that he may have played in helping them win it all this year. In fact, Lamar is so popular in NBA circles that even Hall of Fame coaches dig him.
April 28, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob smiles against the Denver Nuggets during the first quarter in game four of the first round of the 2013 NBA playoffs at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Following their NBA Championship win on Thursday night, Golden State Warriors players and coaches began to spray venom in every direction. Anyone they felt had wronged them was a target. Even those who didn’t found themselves in the crosshairs, including the Minnesota Timberwolves who received a roundabout tongue-lashing from Joe Lacob.
Discussing the impact of Andrew Wiggins, who was acquired from Minnesota in a 2020 trade, Lacob implied that all it took to unlock his talent was a better culture.
“I’ve said that from Day 1, and Steve Kerr said the same thing. He’s a prototypical wing who just played for a not-so-good team, didn’t get perhaps the best culture,” Lacob said, via The Athletic. “We thought if you put him in our situation, he could be great. He didn’t have to be 1A. You saw what he did in these playoffs. He was really, really great.”
Wiggins averaged 16.5 points and 7.5 rebounds throughout the playoffs and proved to be exactly what the doctor ordered for Golden State. Over the last three Finals games, Wiggins brought down 35 rebounds. He was a rock.
As the team celebrated on the court following their win, Lacob was even caught on camera telling Wiggins, “I’m so proud of you.”
Despite Lacob’s praise of Wiggins and his Timberwolves slight, he stopped short of saying they’d extend the contract of the 27-year-old.
“You’ll have to see what we do,” Lacob said. “We got the draft and free agency coming up. We’ll form our team for next year after a lot of discussion the next couple weeks.”
Whatever the Warriors ultimately decide to do, there’s no denying they got more out of Wiggins than the Timberwolves had prior.
Jan 6, 2022; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Golden State Warriors center Kevon Looney (5) before their game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports
Shortly after the Golden State Warriors downed the Boston Celtics to win the NBA championship, they vanished into their locker-room to celebrate. But said celebration could be heard outside the doors and it included a very specific chant that Kevon Looney later owned up to.
The Dubs were chanting "F**k you Draymond" in the locker room after the game 🤣 pic.twitter.com/x1KZHVwYeC
“Basically we were saying, f–k you, Draymond. That’s what we were saying. But it was fun, though. It was just a fun moment for us,” Otto Porter Jr. said.
“Fun moment. Draymond been yelling at us all year, too,” Looney added.
The chant wasn’t just a parody of what Warriors players had heard from Boston fans all series, it was an entertaining rib on Green himself.
Green is known to be pretty tough on and demanding of his teammates. Most brush it off but others, such as Kevin Durant, take it more to heart. Of course, when you’re winning and ultimately walk away with a title, it’s a much easier pill to swallow and poke fun at.
Objectively, it was a funny moment for the Warriors and likely a sense of relief for Green and his teammates. But you had better believe when they return to the court next season, they’re going to hear more of that chant from opposing fans.
Jun 13, 2022; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) gestures after defeating the Boston Celtics in game five of the 2022 NBA Finals at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
It’s been quite the week for Golden State Warriors superstar Steph Curry. On Thursday, he won his fourth NBA title and first Finals MVP. One day later, Curry learned that his No. 30 would be retired at his alma mater, Davidson.
Curry’s jersey retirement comes 13 years after he left Davidson to pursue his NBA dreams. He later returned to the University to earn his degree, officially graduating in May of this year.
“Steph made a commitment to Davidson and to his parents that he was going to graduate,” Davidson coach Bob McKillop said at the time, via the Charlotte Observer. “This was a superb, remarkable story about honoring a commitment, something that again shows that Steph prominently displays character traits that are so absent in our world today…. He is a multi-millionaire, and yet he still takes the time to finish his education.”
In addition to his jersey retirement, the August 31 ceremony will also see Curry inducted into Davidson Athletics Hall of Fame while simultaneously receiving his bachelor’s degree in sociology.
Curry is Davidson’s all-time leader in points, 3-pointers, free throws, field goals and steals.
Mar 20, 2022; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr encourages his players during the fourth quarter against the San Antonio Spurs at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports
The Golden State Warriors won their fourth NBA title under head coach Steve Kerr, and it appears that Kerr and the Warriors had a great time celebrating.
While speaking to a group of reporters after the Warriors’ flight home on Friday, Kerr had an honest response when asked about what it’s been like since the Warriors beat the Boston Celtics in Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Thursday.
“I’m not gonna lie, I’m hungover right now,” Kerr said. “We had a great night last night. Late night, but just a special one.”
Kerr and the Warriors’ celebration is understandable considering some of the struggles that the team has gone through over the last few years. The Warriors had the worst record in the Western Conference (15-50) during the 2019-2020 season, and failed to make it past the postseason play-in games the following season. With Klay Thompson tearing his ACL during the NBA Finals in 2019 (and later his Achilles) and Steph Curry missing most of the 2019-2020 season after hand surgery, the Warriors weren’t a lock to win another ring.
Celebrating an NBA Finals win is nothing new to Kerr, who now has nine championships during his career as both a player and coach. As a player, Kerr won three titles with the Chicago Bulls (1996, 1997 and 1998), and two with the San Antonio Spurs (1999 and 2003). As a coach, Kerr has won a championship four times, all with the Warriors (2015, 2017, 2018, 2022).
May 24, 2022; Dallas, Texas, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) reacts after a play against the Dallas Mavericks during the first quarter in game four of the 2022 Western Conference finals at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Draymond Green received plenty of hostility from Boston Celtics fans throughout the NBA Finals. He had one parting shot at the fanbase a day after the Golden State Warriors beat the Celtics to win their fourth NBA title in the last eight years.
The Celtics gave out T-shirts to fans prior to Game 4 at TD Garden that showed the team’s 17 championship banners, with a spaced reserved for No. 18. Above the banners, the shirt read “It’s all about 18.”
On Friday, Bleacher Report’s Jason Dumas tweeted a photo of Green wearing the shirt, with one funny alteration.
Green wrote “Warriors” with two arrows pointed to the blank 18th banner on his shirt. He also wrote “Nope!! Maybe in ’23.”
Green’s trolling of Celtics fans should come as little surprise. The Boston fans were tough on him this series, shouting profane chants at the four-time All-Star during Games 3 and 4. Green was more than willing to fire back at them. He referred to Celtics fans as “a little obnoxious” on his podcast prior to Game 5.
Green had a miserable first four games of the series offensively, scoring just 17 points and shooting 6-for-26 from the field. But in Thursday’s series-clinching Game 6, Green scored a series-high 12 points, including two three-pointers, and shot 50 percent from the field. He also had 12 rebounds and eight assists.
The four-time NBA champion finished the 2022 playoffs averaging eight points, 7.2 rebounds and 6.3 assists in 22 games.
