Golden State forward Draymond Green went nearly chest-to-chest with a fan during the Warriors’ road victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday night.
The fan, who identified himself as Sam Green, 35, of New Orleans, was wearing a black polo with a Pelicans logo. He stood and cheered after Green had been called for a shooting foul while guarding Pelicans forward Herb Jones.
While players began taking their positions for Jones’s foul shots, Green strode over to the fan and stood inches from him as they spoke to one another, with the fan holding his arms out on each side.
Game officials quickly stepped between them and pulled the Warriors star away while ushers gathered around and spoke with the fan, who continued to look amused by the exchange.
Sam Green said he was taunting Draymond Green with chants of “Angel Reese,” because, while the Warriors star had several rebounds, he hadn’t attempted any shots. Reese, a WNBA player, is known for her skills as a rebounder.
Sam Green said the Warriors star swore at him and threatened to punch him if he continued the “Angel Reese” taunts.
“I wasn’t using profanity and for him to walk 12ft off the court to come and get in my face like that, it was a little unnerving,” said Sam Green, who was given a warning by ushers but was allowed to remain in his front-row seat.
Draymond Green, who has been known to draw technical fouls, fines and ejections for his fiery on-court persona, has been fined for fan interaction in the past. In 2022, he was fined $25,000 for what the NBA described as “directing obscene language toward a fan.”
Green has been critical of crowd behavior, saying fans face relatively few consequences for taunting players, and are sometimes motivated to do so by the fact that players can be fined for engaging with them.
