Draymond Green hints at Joe Lacob’s frustration after Valkyries historic playoff hits roadblocks

Draymond Green voiced his support for Golden State Valkyries and Warriors team owner Joe Lacob on Saturday. Green pointed to Lacob’s frustration as the Valkyries clinched their first playoff berth, only to see the historic moment face an unexpected roadblock.

Despite becoming the first expansion team to clinch a playoff spot in their first-ever season, the Valkyries will not play Game 1 at the Chase Center due to a scheduling issue. Green pointed out that Lacob would be frustrated by this and had tried his best to "cancel" the event at Chase.

"Joe probably did everything he could to cancel that event at Chase. And is probably losing it on anyone who had something to do with that scheduling," Green wrote.

His response stemmed from a Golden State fan voicing his displeasure over the game not being held at Chase Center.

"It’s a little insulting to think that Lacob would spend $50 million for an WNBA team and intentionally snub the Valkyrie from a playoff host game. He knows more than anyone on threads how much a home playoff game means from a fan, team, and revenue standpoint," the fan wrote.

Draymond Green responds to a fan while defending Joe Lacob (Source: Threads)

The playoff game will be on either Sept. 16 or 17, but Chase Center won’t be available since it is set to host the Laver Cup international tennis tournament from Sept. 19 to 21.

Despite the public outcry over the unavailability, there is little Lacob could do about this. The Laver Cup organizers booked Chase Center in 2023, a year before the Valkyries came into existence.

Due to this scheduling conflict, Golden State is set to play its first-ever playoff game at the SAP Center in San Jose.

Joe Lacob vows to make SAP Center feel like "home" for Valkyries fans amid venue conundrum

Golden State clinched its first-ever playoff spot on Thursday after defeating the Dallas Wings 84-80 at the Chase Center. However, the team will not be returning to the venue anytime soon and will head to the SAP Center for their first-ever playoff game.

Despite the conundrum around their venue, team owner Joe Laob vowed to make their temporary arena feel like "home" for their playoff game.

"Our fans have been the heart of our success this year, selling out every game and creating an electric atmosphere. They've earned the right to see playoff basketball, and we're going to make sure SAP Center feels like home for them," he said per MSN.

The Valkyries are in sixth place and are set to face a higher-seeded opponent, meaning they will play a single game at home during the three-game series.

About the author

Arian Kashyap is a basketball journalist at Sportskeeda with over two years of experience at Essentially Sports and Spice Bite and a Bachelor's in Physical Education and Sports Sciences.

Arian's favorite team is the Miami Heat and it’s mainly down to Dwyane Wade being his favorite player of all time. Arian loved how explosive Wade was as a player and he had all the attributes, whether that be shooting, defending or passing. Arian really liked how he won titles both with and without a dynasty behind him.

Arian has also worked with Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools and was the manager for a Delhi-based women’s team called Garwhal Untied. Garwhal won the Delhi league and were runners-up during his tenure.

Arian has judged essay writing competitions for the Commonwealth Students Welfare Group of India in 2023 and was a part of the U-14 team for the Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools academy that qualified for the AIFF Round in 2023.

When not working or watching sports, Arian likes riding his motorcycle and reading.

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Edited by Dipayan Moitra