Draymond Green and Tristan Thompson were mixing it up something serious in the NBA playoffs. When ballers get into confrontations on the court — especially ones where theres more trash talking and shoving than punches being thrown — it usually doesnt extend past the game. Youve heard instances of guys running into the locker room or tunnel and trying to confront a player after the game, but Green and Thompson took things to the next level a few weeks ago.
Bossip, citing “multiple sources,” is reporting the “two players got into a brawl at Los Angeles club Delilah after the ESPY Awards July 18. Bossip reports that Thompson “socked Green with a two-piece, getting the better of the NBA Champion.
Adding to the absurdity of this story, LeBron James and Kevin Durant reportedly broke up the fight, and LeBron quickly left the club afterward. Though they’re rivals on the court, LeBron and Draymond are friends off of it, so such a confrontation would clearly put him in an awkward position.
Sports reporter Jason McIntyre was all over the story and reported it on July 19th, but no party or person was willing to confirm the story, thus we didn’t get the usual social media rush that we have come to expect with blockbuster scoops such as this.
With thethletic.com and its respected stable of seasoned and connected writers confirming the story, people are beginning to get curious about what went down after the ESPY awards and it sounds as if it was one of the epic brawls in the history of sports beefs.
Jason McIntyre on Twitter
via @ThompsonScribe confirmation of the Tristan Thompson/Draymond Green fight for those who doubted it https://t.co/y7zWHeIta3
McIntyre broke it down on Twitter on Monday.
Jason McIntyre on Twitter
Draymond went up to apologize to Tristan for what happened after G4 of the finals. TT said ‘nah man’ and Draymond tried again, ‘come on, I didn’t mean it’ and then WHAP, Tristan leveled him with a punch. Draymond didn’t go down.
He also made it clear that Green was not the aggressor. Apparently, Tristan made the situation some street shit. Green as we all know, talks trash on the court, but once the game ends he usually chills and lets bygones be bygones.
I would assume that the situation could have been squashed, but when Green tried to play Thompson at the World Championship parade, claiming that the two ain’t cut the same and aren’t “cut from the same cloth.” Green also bragged about disrespecting Tristan by not shaking his hand after Game 4. Those jabs may have awoken the beast in Thompson and at that point, situation transcended the ball court. Green was attempting to publicly embarrass Thompson and questioned his caliber as a man.
SportsCenter on Twitter
He tried to shake my hand, I said ‘Tristan, we ain’t cut the same.” -Draymond on not shaking hands with Tristan Thompson after Game 4. https://t.co/VJn82lYUsz
The next opportunity that Tristan got to prove that the two definitely werent the same at all — he did it by socking Draymond after Green came up to him to apologize.
Jason McIntyre on Twitter
Draymond Green was not the aggressor, he was trying to make peace. Tristan felt embarrassed by the end of the Finals diss moment and just unloaded. Couple players i spoke here in LA/on social media went with, “about time
Green has terrorized players, refs and pushed opponents to the brink of destruction with his on-court antics and his flagrant loose lips. According to McIntyre, there were players who felt that Green got his comeuppance that night.
You would think that if these two guys really mixed it up, it could be a heck of a heavyweight brawl. Thompson is 6’9″ and 238 pounds, and Green is 6’7″ and 230 pounds. Who knows what the outcome would be if they threw on the gloves and got at it, but Thompson isn’t playing by the rules anymore and he got the drop on Draymond and the rest is history. It will be interesting to see what happens the next time these two guys meet each other on the court or in the streets. Their rivalry has taken on a life of its own.
