Draymond Green and Dillon Brooks are at it again.
Draymond Green is the reigning loudmouth of the NBA. Green has backed up his smack talk for a decade by playing an integral role on four championship teams on the Golden State Warriors, and his gift of gab has made him a rising media presence with a popular podcast and a TNT deal as an analyst.
Dillon Brooks views himself as the successor to Green’s signature brand of emotional leadership and on-court instigation. His Memphis Grizzlies are a rising challenger to the Warriors’ long-time dominance in the Western Conference. Brooks believes his time is now.
The bad blood between the Warriors and Grizzlies was apparent during the second round playoff series last year. Golden State won in six games on their way to another title, but the Grizzlies made them work for it. The younger Grizzlies have been the better all year, and Brooks didn’t hesitate to take a few shots at Green in a recent ESPN profile. Green of course responded on his podcast like only he can.
All eyes were on Green and Brooks when the Grizzlies and Warriors met on Thursday, and they did not disappoint. Memphis beat the Warriors, 131-110, and Green and Brooks provided the theater by getting heated face-to-face on the court and ripping each other to the media off of it.
After Brooks scored to build Memphis’ big lead in the second quarter, he and Green got into one of the funniest and most memorable sequences of the year:
Warriors coach Steve Kerr didn’t even want to look:
Brooks ended with 14 points on 6-of-15 shooting, with six assists and four rebounds, in the win. Green had 16 points, seven assists, and five boards in the loss.
During the game, Brooks told TNT they should give the mic to Draymond so he could talk about him and get him to keep playing better.
Brooks called Green’s podcast “cute” after the game”
Green of course had his own spin after the game. He said Warriors-Grizzlies isn’t a rivalry because the Grizzlies haven’t won anything:
Green also said Brooks was trying to bait him into technical fouls, but he refused to take it.
“I don’t get baited into technical fouls. So I think that’s probably the difference between me and him.”
– Draymond on Brooks getting into his face pic.twitter.com/x1Yv4381Y7
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 10, 2023
The Green-Brooks beef was ignited by an ESPN feature on Brooks earlier this month. Here’s what the Grizzlies forward said of Green:
“I don’t like Draymond at all,” he says. “I just don’t like Golden State. I don’t like anything to do with them. Draymond talks a lot. Gets away with a lot, too. His game is cool — with Golden State — but if you put him anywhere else, you’re not going to know who Draymond is. He plays with heart, plays hard, knows the ins and outs of their defense. I guess that’s why they like him over there.”
Here’s Draymond’s response on his podcast:
The Warriors haven’t forgotten about Brooks taking out Gary Payton II in the playoffs last year, and want to prove they’re still the team to beat in the West. The Grizzlies don’t want to be next, they want to be now.
Please, please give us another Warriors-Grizzlies playoff series this year. It’s the only way to settle this.
