Draymond Green fires back at his old rival Jusuf Nurkic.
In the aftermath of the Suns’ loss to the Timberwolves on Sunday, big man Jusuf Nurkic got called out by a familiar foe. The attacker was star big man Draymond Green, who went on his podcast with some choice words for “the big softy.”
“That’s all folks. You’ve got to be careful when you’re not that successful and you try to take jabs at people. Because when you don’t have control over your success, when you don’t play a large enough role in your team’s success when you can’t affect the outcome of the game… like you can go get 20 rebounds and lose a game. When you really don’t affect the outcome of the game, it’s really tough to take jabs at people when you can’t affect what your end result it!”
Draymond and Nurkic have a long and better history with each other. As two frontcourt players who have spent their careers in the West, they have clashed in many intense games both in the regular season and the playoffs. Their most memorable encounter to date was this past season when Draymond took a swing at Nurkic in the middle of a game.
The altercation was the final nail in the coffin for Green, who got suspended after a series of violent and inexplicable outbursts on the court. As for Nurkic, he had a lot to say after the ordeal and went on to insist that the Warriors star had learned “nothing” from his indefinite suspension. The veterans have exchanged several blows over the past few months and their dynamic has become like a full-blown rivalry in today’s NBA.
Draymond Green Is Out For Revenge
Strangely, Jusuf Nurkic and his Suns team got farther in the playoffs than the Warriors did, and that fact was not lost on many fans who made sure to point that out in the comments. But as a 4x champion and one of the most notorious trash talkers in the league, Draymond is unlikely to stand down and he’s almost surely planning his revenge arc.
This season, watching the Suns get bounced was enough to give Draymond some satisfaction but the only way to silence the haters for good is to return to the Finals and re-take their place at the NBA mountaintop.
Much like the Suns, the Warriors were a shell of themselves all season long, and Green’s suspension no doubt played a role in their year-long struggles. To get back on track and return the Warriors to their former glory, Draymond will have to leave the theatrics behind and focus his energy on being the best version of himself on the court.
Next season, with the core likely to return, the Warriors will be fighting to prove that their championship window has not yet closed and Draymond’s defense, intensity, and trash talk will be part of the equation for better or worse. Dray hasn’t lost an ounce of confidence and he’s going to be playing with a chip on his shoulder for all next season. Unless Jusuf Nurkic can find some success with the Suns, he’ll be the one on the losing end of this ongoing beef with Draymond.
