Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green saved his harshest words about Memphis Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins for Thursday’s episode of his podcast.
One of the viral moments from the Warriors’ 137–116 victory over the Grizzlies on Wednesday was a second-quarter skirmish that resulted in a technical for both Green and Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane.
During the on-court scuffle, Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins ended up falling to the ground after being bumped from behind by a scrum of players.
One day after the incident, Green didn’t show any pity for Jenkins and said the fifth-year Memphis coach “milked it.”
“Taylor Jenkins took a dive,” Green said on The Draymond Green Show. “I could not believe that he milked it like that. … He’s walking back to our bench and the trainer asks Taylor Jenkins, like, ‘You okay?’ And he’s like ‘I’m okay, I’m okay.’ Like trying to milk it. And that to me is absolutely insane.”
Draymond on Taylor Jenkins falling last night during a scuffle: pic.twitter.com/wEwFk4wxe1
— TheWarriorsHouse (@GSWarriorsHouse) March 21, 2024
The conflict started with Green and the Grizzlies’ Santi Aldama getting into a physical confrontation under the basket, which caused Jenkins to complain to the officials at the next stoppage. During their conversation, Bane didn’t like how close Green was standing next to Jenkins and pushed Green, resulting in more players and coaches entering the scrum. Green and Warriors guard Gary Payton II were then pushed into Jenkins, who had his back turned and was sent tumbling to the floor.
Green and Bane dapped it out after the fracas, and neither player has been disciplined by the league at this time. After Green’s latest comments, though, there appears to be no shortage of bad blood simmering between the two Western Conference rivals.
“We have a history with this team and it’s always been very competitive,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after the game. “They’re tough. When we play them there’s usually some kind of dustup.”
Following Wednesday’s win, the Warriors improved to 36–32 and sit in 10th place in the West while the Grizzlies (23–47) were eliminated from playoff contention.
