Draymond Green Says He Doesn't Regret Choking Rudy Gobert And Clearly Still Doesn't Understand That His Actions Have Consequences

Thearon W. Henderson. Getty Images.

Just about two weeks ago, Draymond Green saw an opportunity to take a shot on Rudy Gobert and he did not hesitate

The Warriors broadcast, their fans, and even Steve Kerr tried to immediately spinzone that chokehold, saying it was just Draymond defending his teammate. Nobody bought it, Steve Kerr immediately changed his tune after it became clear that nobody bought it, and the NBA came down with a 5 game suspension for Draymond as a result. In my opinion, that was a penalty that fit the crime. Long enough to make it sting, but not so long that the league went too far.

After losing that game against MIN to fall to 6-6, the Warriors went 2-3 over the 5 game Draymond suspension, with their only wins coming against HOU (by 5) and the Spurs (by 6). They now sit at 8-9 and are 10th in the West. The surprising part is 2 of those 3 losses came in their own building, where the Warriors are now 3-6 on the season. Last year, the Warriors lost just 8 games all year in their own building if you were curious.

So now that Draymond has had all that time off to reflect, you would think he would now return with a different mentality. That maybe he would be humbled by this latest incident and how it clearly hurt his team.

Just kidding. Nothing has changed.

NBA executive vice president Joe Dumars had said in a statement announcing Green's suspension that his history of unsportsmanlike conduct played a role in the length of the ban.

"To continue mentioning, 'Oh, well, he did this in the past,' I paid for those," Green said. "I got suspended in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. You can't keep suspending me for those actions."

This is funny in several levels. For starters, it's funny that Draymond is still going with the whole "defending his teammate" thing. Draymond, we've all seen the video. You were caught in 4K. There was no "protecting" going on. In fact, Rudy was breaking things up. We all saw it! Even your own coach walked back those words 24 hours after you did it! 

But that's not my favorite part. My favorite part is how Draymond still does not understand that his history is going to play a role in this shit. Yes Draymond, your priors matter. You are a habitual line stepper

so when you continue to step over that line time and time again with more plays like this, anyone with a brain is going to factor that in when thinking of what your punishment should be. Welcome to planet earth. It shows that you clearly have not learned anything from your prior mistakes, and you're essentially confirming that there will be a next time. Of course that's going to matter! Draymond with his history is going to be evaluated differently from someone who maybe doesn't have anywhere close to the same history of shady/dirty plays.

You're not being punished for what you did in the Finals now in 2023. The NBA isn't sitting here saying well, we still need to make Draymond pay for hitting a guy in the dick way back when. But to think that the league office should just ignore everything you've done in the past every time you continue to do something dirty is so delusional I had to double check and make sure that was a real quote. Actions have consequences, why is that so hard to understand? 

Guess what? The next time Draymond has a dirty play that might warrant a suspension, the league is going to factor in what just happened with Rudy, as they should! This also isn't only a Draymond Green thing. This is what the league does for every player when evaluating these situations. Draymond just doesn't like it because his history is littered with dirty plays. You don't get to pick and choose when your history can matter. You did the actions, you now have to live with the results! Most would maybe see that as a sign to stop doing shit like this, but not Draymond. 

In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if the league hands down an even more serious suspension the next time something comes up, which we all know it will. This is how Draymond plays. Sometimes he gets away with it, other times he gets caught. But to play the "woe is me" card acting like he's a victim of unfair rulings because of his history is beyond comical. 

Stop doing dirty shit on the basketball court and there is literally no longer a problem. But if you're not willing to do that, don't be surprised when you continue to have to pay the price for your own actions. That seems like pretty basic level stuff.