No one picks a fight quite like Draymond Green.
The antagonistic Golden State Warriors forward found a new target Monday night in Dallas Mavericks rookie Dennis Smith Jr., who dared to attempt a strong finish with Green defending him late in the third quarter.
Draymond to Dennis Smith Jr: đŁYou'll never dunk on me pic.twitter.com/T4QF1OTPNi
â Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 24, 2017
Green fouled Smith on the play, but that didnât stop him from barking at the rookie for making a pretty standard attempt to score the basketball. And after the Warriorsâ 133-103 win, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year doubled down on his call-out of Smith.
Draymond Green on the rookie Dennis Smith Jr. trying to dunk on him and talking trash: âThat sâ ainât happening.â pic.twitter.com/WnXFnkRr4J
What do you think? Leave a comment.â Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) October 24, 2017
âYeah, that sâ ainât happening,â Green said of Smith trying to dunk on him. âThis ainât summer league, bro. Not just gonna dunk on nobody. Better luck next time.â
To his credit, Smith held his ground. When informed of Greenâs comments, the 19-year-old (accurately) dismissed them as the ramblings of one of the leagueâs most confrontational players.
âI donât know what (Green) was talking about,â Smith said, via ESPN.com. âHe canât say nothing. He fouled me. It doesnât even make sense.
âI was just laughing at him. Heâs rambling on about nothing. It ainât like he blocked it. Heâs just rambling, and I laughed at him.â
Smith finished with just 10 points on 3-of-11 shooting in his second NBA game, but it appears his rookie initiation still went better than Lonzo Ballâs.
Thumbnail photo via Jerome Miron/USA TODAY Sports Images