Draymond Green's 5 most controversial ejections of all-time

Draymond Green is considered to be one of the greatest defenders of all time with his versatility in guarding multiple positions along with his excellent reads on the opposing team's set plays and styles. However, Green is also recognized as one of the more interesting players with his controversial altercations on the court brought by his unmatched intensity in playing the sport.

During yesterday's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Green got ejected for his altercation with Donovan Mitchell. The incident involved Mitchell rushing over to the Warriors forward and he "intentionally shoved him," as per ESPN's Kendra Andrews.

The move from Mitchell obviously resulted in getting a strong reaction from Draymond Green, as Andrews mentioned that the previous play involved the two tumbling down together after Green stripped the ball off of Mitchell.

With that said, this article will take a look at Green's five most controversial ejections, following his recent 17th career ejection.

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The 5 most controversial ejections of Draymond Green all-time

5) Ejection after elbowing Blake Griffin to the neck

During a 2013 Christmas game against the LA Clippers, Draymond Green was ejected when he elbowed former Clippers star Blake Griffin near the end of the third quarter. Both were given technical fouls while Green was ejected from the ball game, as per Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes.

4) Green gets ejected for pulling Memphis Grizzlies Brandon Clarke's jersey

During the 2022 playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies, Green received another career ejection during the Warriors' 117-166 Game 1 victory. The ejection was brought upon when Draymond Green pulled Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke's jersey to the ground, as per Bleacher Report's Erin Walsh.

The play involved Clarke going up for a layup when Green made the move to pull him down with his jersey to eliminate an "and-one" conversion.

3) Green gets ejected after a fight with Bradley Beal in 2017

Back in 2017, Draymond found himself in another altercation with former Washington Wizards star Bradley Beal. The incident between the two players happened near the end of the first half when they were battling down low for the rebound, as per Insider's Cork Gaines.

Green looked to have elbowed Beal near the side area of his body, resulting in a retaliated hit from the Wizards guard on Green's head and neck area. The brawl was ugly, as Green's jersey ended up getting damaged and the two got ejected.

2) Ejection following his kick to Steven Adams' groin in 2016

In Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals against the OKC Thunder, Draymond Green received another ejection when his movement resulted in a kick on Steven Adams' groin area, as per Insider's Cork Gaines.

The incident happened when Green decided to take the ball straight to the cup against Adams when he decided to pump fake with his foot landing on the center's groin area.

1) Ejection in Game 2 of the 2023 playoff series against the Sacramento Kings

Lastly, Green received yet another ejection in Game 2 of the 2023 playoff series against the Sacramento Kings. The Warriors forward caught himself in the arms of Kings forward Domantas Sabonis when he fell to the ground after trying to secure a rebound, as per Insider's Cork Gaines.

When his feet were trapped in Sabonis' arms, Green tried to get himself free when his feet landed on Sabonis' chest and decided to propel himself forward. To this day, it is considered one of his most controversial ejections, given the circumstance and context of what happened.