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After the Warriors defeated the Kings in the first round of the postseason, Draymond Green shared some thoughts that caught my attention.
Green was suspended earlier in the series for stomping on Sacramento big man Domantas Sabonis. Several people around the league (including teammates Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson as well as Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, and Damian Lillard) defended Green’s actions.
Sabonis, however, claimed that there is “no room” for that in the NBA. It makes sense why he may have harvested some resentment for Green. He suffered a sternum contusion following Green’s stomp.
Once the series was over and the Kings were officially eliminated on Sunday, according to Green, Sabonis went directly to the locker room before he shook hands with anyone on Golden State’s roster.
Draymond Green confirms on his podcast that Domantas Sabonis didn’t shake anyone’s hand and went to the locker room after the game 7 loss, Green says he lost a lot of respect for him. It’s a weak move. #dubnation pic.twitter.com/fKLFuIvRxC
— Kylen Mills (@KylenMills) May 1, 2023
During the latest episode of his podcast, Green said that made him lose respect for Sabonis (via The Draymond Green Show):
“Lost a lot of respect for Sabonis. You don’t shake guys hands after you lose? I don’t respect that. I once left the court when we lost in Game 7 to the Cleveland Cavaliers and I went to my locker room and I sat down and I said this don’t feel right. And I walked back on the court and I showed everybody love. We lost. Deal with it. Pay your respect. That was whack to me.”
That is creating a false equivalency and unfair criticism of Sabonis.
While it may have been a nice gesture for Sabonis to let bygones be bygones after the amazing series concluded, you can’t stomp on someone’s chest and then just expect them to forgive you and shake your hand.
The discourse surrounding handshake etiquette is frankly quite boring. People don’t shake hands all the time and we don’t need to police it. LeBron left the floor before he exchanged pleasantries with the Grizzlies. Who cares?
Some folks thought the pandemic could have ended the handshake forever, but the tradition is still expected as a postgame ritual in sports. After an ugly incident involving Michigan coach Juwan Howard, however, former NBA star Patrick Ewing advocated for the tradition to end.
Simply put, there is more to good sportsmanship than a postgame handshake.
After a physical series that was tasking both emotionally and physically, after it was all said and done, I can understand why Sabonis maybe just wanted to get off the court.
The Tip-Off
NBA content from around the USA TODAY Sports network.
My colleague, Charles Curtis, ranked the 10 best possible 2023 NBA Finals matchups:
“The Golden State Warriors are contenders. Again. LeBron and the Los Angeles Lakers look like they could make a run. The top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks bowed out. And the New York Knicks won a playoff series for the first time in a while. So much NBA drama, which we love.
All of that means we’re set up for some potentially juicy NBA Finals matchups that we should all root for. With the second round already in progress, let’s dig into the 10 best possible NBA Finals matchups, based on the highest level of watchability.”
Click here to read his full list.
One to Watch
(All odds via Tipico.)
Nuggets (-4.5, -180) vs. Nuggets (+4.5, +155), O/U 228.5, 10:00 PM ET
Everyone is scared of the Suns, but let’s not forget that the Nuggets had the best record in the Western Conference and won the first game of the series.
Shootaround
—A fired-up Steph Curry told the Kings to ‘light the beam’ as the Warriors ended Sacramento’s season
—LeBron James didn’t shake hands with the Grizzlies after the Lakers absolutely destroyed Memphis by 40
— Klay Thompson thinks his dad may root against him during the Lakers – Warriors playoff series
— Ja Morant caught flack for his ‘Fine in the West’ comments after being eliminated by the Lakers but he took it in stride