Draymond GreenForward, Golden State Warriors

Draymond Green REVEALS What Led to Jabari Smith Jr. Technical Foul

10 Mar 2026 · 1 min

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1:05

In this YouTube monologue, Draymond Green addresses the controversy surrounding the technical foul he received for a play involving Jabari Smith Jr. He details his defensive strategy—specifically toe‑blocking Kevin Durant and positioning his back to the screener—to prevent Durant from catching the ball. Green explains that Jabari's foul was a reaction to his physical play, emphasizing his belief that NBA players must not give opponents any advantage. He asserts that allowing an opponent an edge leads to loss, and that his aggressive approach is necessary to win. Green also warns that falling and being stepped on is unacceptable, reinforcing his stance that physicality and protecting teammates are integral to his game philosophy.

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And everyone's talking about the technical foul on Jabari Smith, like, "Oh, Draymond being crazy." So let me explain to y'all what happened. What happened is I'm guarding KD, I'm toe blocking KD, which means KD is trying to come off a pin down. I have my back completely to the guy who's setting the screen, forcing KD down the floor. Another tactic in not allowing him to catch the ball. When KD catch the ball, good luck. And so Jabari took the foul. Stood there like, "Hell yeah, get more physical with these dudes. Yeah, I pushed him down." I don't think anyone should let that happen, but I'm definitely not letting that happen. Only thing I can do in that moment is what I did. The one thing that people don't understand about this game is you can't give people an edge in the NBA. You give somebody an edge, you lose. And we won. In a situation where Jabari was struggling mightily, you're not gonna find your edge on that play. And I'm not gonna be the guy that you foul and I fall down and you stand over me or walk over me and talk. That ain't gonna never work. Right. So that's what happened on that play. If I fall down and you step over me, something will happen to you. That's just the way it's gonna go. Way it's always gonna be. Nothing changing about that.