Why Draymond Green’s Rage Was Ripe, According to Former NBA Player

Many criticized Draymond Green after his last incident — an feud with Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr — that prompted him to go to the locker room and stay off the floor for the rest of the game. But a former NBA player Chandler Parsons is a squeal while everyone else squeals.

Parsons said on FanDuel TV’s ‘Run It Back’ that Green was actually mature by leaving the bench at the beginning of the third quarter and returning later.

“I think if this was anybody other than Draymond Green, this is probably national news, right? It’s still going up and it’s still getting a lot of attention, but this is just something that happens a lot,” Parsons said. “These are two guys who respect each other, who have won against each other at the highest level. And they’re two passionate guys who, again, like Lou (Williams) just said, I don’t think this is a problem. This is just in the heat of the moment, which happens all the time. And this would never have come to the surface if the fan hadn’t been here with the videos, but Drummond doesn’t think about it. – and we don’t want anything to be so damaging to the team – but I think it was a sign maturity that he just stormed off and left, and then he came back and Kerr said, ‘Cool, you’re still not back in the game.’

“And I guarantee you they’ve already brought it up, they’ve talked about it, and they’re going to move forward. And in a season like this, when they’re just back to .500, there’s probably some frustration. There’s probably some tough times. But this really, to me, is nothing. This is just a guy who’s earned the right to say something like this and he’s always respected his opinion and he’s always respected his opinion. I’ve appreciated that kind of passion and fire, so you can’t mix that in now and have a problem with team, Draymond said, ‘I didn’t think it would get any better.’ I’m a big believer in just leaving the situation and letting things cool off, so I kind of understand why he’s doing it.”

“If this was anyone other than Draymond Green, this is probably national news … it was a sign of maturity that he actually just sprinted away.”

Chandler Parsons on the heated debate between Steve Kerr and Green 🗣

(via @RunItBackFDTV)pic.twitter.com/b10NR8LTvI

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) December 23, 2025

After the altercation, which occurred on the bench early in the third quarter during a timeout, Kerr did not return Green to the game, and the Warriors pulled away from the Orlando Magic, winning 120-97 after holding a one-point halftime lead. Green finished the game with 9 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists in 18 minutes. Kerr said little in addition he and Green “had a bit of a fight” before Green “made the decision to go back to the locker room to cool off.” However, Kerr confirmed that he did not bring Green back into the game due to his departure from the bench.

“He didn’t come back. No. He left. He went back to the locker room. We moved forward and the guys played great,” Kerr said in the postgame press conference.

Green, one of the NBA’s most polarizing players, has had his fair share of incidents, and the Kerr feud pales in comparison. Specifically, Green has previously been suspended or otherwise punished for punching then-teammate Jordan Poole in practice, punching then-Phoenix Suns great Jusuf Nurkic, choking Minnesota Timberwolves center and longtime rival Rudy Gobert, stomping Sacramento Kings’ Domantas on Domantas Sabonis and, most often, in the Leo B-killing Leo B match. 2016 NBA Finals.

The Warriors (15-15) stay at home for their game against old teammate Klay Thompson and the Dallas Mavericks on Christmas Day.