For a moment, the Golden State Warriors rivalry with the Cleveland Cavaliers was one of the best in the NBA. The teams met four straight times in the NBA Finals, with Golden State taking home three championship banners.
Now, in 2020, the team’s are drastically different from those that battled deep into the playoffs. No LeBron James, no Kevin Durant and both “Splash Brothers” are dealing with long-term injuries. However, there is still bad blood between fans of the Cavaliers and one member of the Golden State Warriors.
In the Warriors’ first trip to Cleveland in 2020, when Draymond Green was announced to the home crowd, he didn’t exactly receive a warm welcome, in fact, it was quite the opposite. The home crowd booed Green as his name was announced during the away team starting lineups.
Judging by the pregame boos, Cavaliers fans still don't like Draymond Green.
— Connor Letourneau (@Con_Chron) February 2, 2020
During Golden State and Cleveland’s battles in the NBA Finals, Green played 10 games in the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, averaging 10.6 points, 8.1 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game.
After the game, Green was asked by reporters what he thought of the boos from the home crowd.
I love that — to come back here and they still boo me, it’s like man, that little chapter is over, but when they boo me, it just kind of takes me back — it puts you back in that mindset and that feeling that you had coming in here when those boos were really warranted — so yeah, that was good — that was exciting.
Against the 2019-20 Cavaliers, Green played like there was a championship on the line, tying his career-high for assists with 16, adding eight points, seven rebounds, two steals and two blocks to lead Golden State to a 131-115 victory in Cleveland.