Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green Sheds Light on Controversial LeBron James Incident: ‘Damn Right I Tried to Hit Him’

The year was 2016. At that point, the Warriors were seeking their second straight championship during what turned out to be a dynasty era for Stephen Curry and Co. Standing in their way were LeBron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers, who incidentally, had already gone down 3-1 in that unforgettable Finals series.

In Game 4, Green and LeBron got caught up in a play deep in the fourth quarter. It ended up with the Warriors forward hitting the deck and James stepping over him. Draymond did not appreciate the gesture and his immediate reaction as soon as he got up was to throw a shot in LeBron’s direction:

Green wasn’t ejected from the game for his actions, and the Warriors actually ended up winning Game 4. The NBA, however, reviewed the play and decided to suspend Draymond for Game 5.

LeBron and the Cavs took advantage of Green’s absence in Game 5. They went on to win three straight games to pull off the biggest comeback in NBA Finals history.

Golden State Warriors News: Draymond Green Gets Brutally Honest on LeBron James Controversy

In a recent appearance on Shaquille O’Neal’s podcast, Green looked back at that incident from nearly a decade ago. The former Defensive Player of the Year discussed the LeBron controversy in the context of Denver Nuggets star Jamal Murray throwing a heat pack on the court during their second-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

According to Green, there is no doubt in his mind that he would have been suspended for the rest of the playoffs if he were in Murray’s shoes.

Green is adamant that if the NBA suspended him for his actions against LeBron in the 2016 NBA Finals, the league would have surely gone much harder on him if he was the one who threw the heat pack on the court.

Such is the life of a man who’s earned quite a reputation through the years.