Draymond Green Handshake Snub Video Goes Viral After Warriors Star Called Out Sabonis

The Golden State forward had a different view of a similar situation in 2018.
Draymond Green Handshake Snub Video Goes Viral After Warriors Star Called Out Sabonis
Draymond Green Handshake Snub Video Goes Viral After Warriors Star Called Out Sabonis /

Warriors forward Draymond Green had an eventful first-round series against the Kings. So eventful, in fact, that he continued to generate headlines even after the series was over.

After a fiercely contested seven-game battle that saw Green ejected from Game 2 for stomping on the chest of Sacramento forward Domantas Sabonis, Green assailed Sabonis on his podcast for failing to shake his hand after Game 7. However, a video from 2018 shows Green espousing a different perspective on postgame handshakes.

Green, interviewed by NBC Sports Bay Area at the Warriors championship parade that summer, recounted then-Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson attempting to shake his hand after Game 4 of Golden State’s sweep of Cleveland in that year’s NBA finals.

“He tried to shake my hand,” Green said. “I said ‘Tristan, we ain’t cut the same.’”

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On Monday, Green remarked on The Draymond Green Show that he “lost a lot of respect” for Sabonis due to his postgame actions.

“I once left the court when we lost in Game 7 (of the 2016 Finals) to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and I went to my locker room and I sat down and I said, ‘This don’t feel right,’ and I walked back out on the court and I showed everybody love,” Green said. “Pay your respect.”

Green and Golden State, incidentally, will meet Thompson and the Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals. The series will begin with Game 1 on Tuesday.


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Patrick Andres
PATRICK ANDRES

Patrick Andres is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in December 2022, having worked for The Blade, Athlon Sports, Fear the Sword and Diamond Digest. Andres has covered everything from zero-attendance Big Ten basketball to a seven-overtime college football game. He is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a double major in history .