In every great playoff series, there is always a turning point. Giannis Antetokounmpo's alley-op dunk was the highlight in Game 5 of the 2021 NBA Finals. With his clutch 3-pointer in the final seconds of Game 6, Ray Allen changed the entire course of the 2013 NBA Finals.
However, Drummond Green's game-four foul on LeBron James in the 2016 NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers changed everything.
Despite the fact that he cost his team a championship by suspending them, Green claims he has no regrets.
Drummond Green fouls LeBron James in Game 4 of the 2016 NBA Finals.
LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers speaks with Drummond Greene of the Golden State Warriors during Game 4 of the NBA Finals on June 10, 2016. Getty Images/Bay Area Newsgroup/Media Newsgroup/Jose Carlos Fajardo
The Golden State Warriors, who won 73 games this season, beat LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers 3-1 after the first four games of the 2016 NBA Finals.
However, with less than three minutes left in Game 4, James stepped on Draymond Green, which had fallen to the floor. Green then rises up and attempts to kill James, leading to a heated exchange between the two celebrities. Green was assessed a serious foul by the NBA after the game, earning him his fourth major foul of the post season and an automatic suspension.
As you probably know, the Cavaliers won Game 5 112–97 due to his absence. That's all they needed to make an incredible comeback. Game 6 was won by Cleveland 115–101, and Game 7 was won by Cleveland 93–89 to seal the series.
So, how does Green feel about his feud with James now that it's been almost six years?
Draymond Green doesn't seem to be remorseful about his feud with LeBron James.
Former NBA player JJ Reddick asked Draymond Greene about that moment in Game 4 of the 2016 NBA Finals during his recent appearance on The Old Man and the Three podcast.
"The only thing that might change is that I'm not sure I'll react the same way at this point in time because I've grown up as a person," Green said in January. The total number of episodes is 29. "I'm not sorry for reacting the way I did at the moment because the only reason I can't promise you I won't react this way in the future is because if someone steps on me Shoulder, I'm going to try to push them away." ... What I do know is that I believe LeBron persuaded me to do this, and I'm sure he won't refuse me today Could. That's it, if anything. But I'm not sorry because it happens, and I learned a lot from it."
Green also said that if the Warriors had won the series, he believes they would not have added Kevin Durant in the offseason.
"I'm not sure our run would have continued if we hadn't got Kevin Durant," he admitted.
Green, the Defensive Player of the Year in 2016-17, believes he has got his due, but does not believe the league should have suspended him for Game 5.
"For trying to kill him, I was upgraded to a serious foul," he explained. "I made an effort, no doubt about it." He is leaning against my back. However, I failed to notice it. The reason for my suspension was apparently bad accumulation points. I was not the one who spat on him. "I was oblivious."
Whether or not he believes his suspension was justified, the incident changed NBA history.
Wrath Changed NBA History Forever
On June 10, 2016, in the final minutes of Game 4, LeBron steps in as Draymond takes a swipe.
Dubs took a 3–1 lead in Game 5, but Green was suspended.
return start. pic.twitter.com/gl5bRySftf
— Bleacher Report (@BleаcherReport) June 10, 2020
As noted by Draymond Green, his flamboyant foul changed NBA history forever. There is a good chance that the Cavs would not have rallied from a 3–1 deficit to win the final if they had not been suspended, and they would not have become the first team to do so.
Had the Warriors won, Kevin Durant would not have joined the Warriors in the offseason. As a result, the Cavaliers could win the championship in 2017 and Kyrie Irving could stay in Cleveland the following year. It is possible that LeBron James would not have picked the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018 if Kyrie had stayed.
But it is Green's belief that if he had won the championship, he would have won the NBA Finals MVP. In the series, the three-time All-Star averaged 16.5 points per game, 10.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.0 blocks. In Game 7, he scored 32 points, scored 15 rebounds, and provided nine assists.
"It completely changes the story." If I were the finals MVP, you would have worked hard to get out of NBA 75. "It's a privilege to be debated whether or not I should be in the Hall of Fame if I were the final MVP," he said.