All The Arguments Between Kevin Durant And Draymond Green

The Golden State Warriors had quite the dynasty in the 2010s, and if the likes of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson continue putting up big numbers on the scoreboard, it's not inconceivable to say their 2022 NBA championship — their first in four years — will likely be followed by even more titles. But it's not just the "Splash Brothers" who contributed mightily to those league championships. Draymond Green has long served as the team's defensive linchpin, an undersized yet super-versatile power forward who doesn't score much but helps out almost everywhere else. Then you've got Kevin Durant, the former NBA scoring champion who helped the already-dominant Warriors to two championship trophies in his three years with the organization.

It's not uncommon for successful NBA teams to have a bit of drama behind the scenes. Scottie Pippen's issues with the Chicago Bulls at the height of their 1990s dynasty immediately come to mind. But in more modern times, the Warriors also had some drama amid the glory, and a lot of it centered on those last two Golden State (or ex-Golden State) players we mentioned above. Let's take a look at why Durant, at least for multiple moments in his stint with the Warriors, had serious issues with Green.

The Golden State Warriors had an excellent season in 2016-17, finishing with a 67-15 regular-season record and winning an NBA championship behind their talented, high-scoring lineup. It was business as usual for arguably the league's best team for most of the past decade, but not quite for two of its stars, those being Kevin Durant and Draymond Green.

The first argument between the two teammates took place on January 7, 2017, as the Warriors were in the process of blowing a massive 24-point lead against the Memphis Grizzlies. With 41 seconds remaining in regulation and Golden State up by two points, Green, while running the offense in his usual point forward role, called for Durant to run a pick-and-roll with Stephen Curry (via CBS News). But instead of running this play, Durant called for the ball, held on to it as his teammates watched, and took a contested three-pointer off the isolation play. KD failed to convert, and Green let him have it, screaming that Durant should have listened to him and ran the pick-and-roll. The Warriors would go on to lose that game in overtime, 128-119.

Almost one month later, Durant and Green were at it again as the Warriors lost a second OT game to a less talented team, the Sacramento Kings. According to NBC Sports, the argument got so heated that reserves JaVale McGee and Shaun Livingston had to serve as the proverbial cooler heads and try to get the two stars to settle down. Green, however, would downplay the tiff, taking to Snapchat a day later and dismissing the rumors of a feud with Durant.

The next time Kevin Durant and Draymond Green had words with each other came two seasons and more than a year and a half after the pair of 2016-17 arguments. Not only was this argument possibly bigger and messier than the previous two combined. Once again, it happened during a game that the Golden State Warriors lost in overtime.

According to Yahoo Sports, the exchange of words apparently happened on November 12, 2018, after Green refused to pass the ball to Durant as time ran out, forcing the Warriors' game against the Los Angeles Clippers to go an extra five minutes as Green turned the ball over. An upset Durant called Green out during the team huddle, and Green reportedly reacted by repeatedly calling KD a "b***h" — and by alluding to his impending free agency. Sources familiar with the situation quoted Green as saying,"We don't need you. We won without you. Leave," or something similar.

The Warriors would end up losing this game to their divisional rivals, and for his outburst, Green received a one-game suspension without pay the very next day.

When asked to comment on Green's suspension, Durant played it coy, telling reporters that he found it strange that his fellow starting forward wouldn't be suiting up. "I just try to do my best to move on and be a basketball player. I don't got nothing else to do but to be the best player I can be every single day. I try not to worry about nothing else," Durant said, adding that he "didn't really care either way" about whether Green got punished or not.

Apparently, some of Draymond Green's words during the aforementioned November 2018 verbal joust might have cut a little too deep for Kevin Durant, who signed with the Brooklyn Nets during the 2019 offseason free agency period.

Speaking on ESPN's First Take (via The Washington Post) in October 2019, Durant hinted that he and Green had quickly patched up their differences for the good of the team. But what was really revealing was KD's admission that Green's "out of line" comments about him during their tiff a year prior were among the factors that influenced his decision to leave the Golden State Warriors and team up with fellow 2019 free agent Kyrie Irving on the Nets. "I mean, your teammate talked to you that way, you think about it a bit," Durant said on First Take. "But ... we talked about it, but definitely [it was a factor], for sure, I'm not going to lie about it."

As quoted by NBC Sports, Green refuted Durant's claims during an April 2020 episode of the "All the Smoke" Podcast, stressing that he would have likely been the one traded — and not KD — had the latter chosen to stick around. "[Durant] was one foot in and one foot out. And he left because he wanted to leave," he continued. "Because he wanted to be here and me being here was an issue, I would have been out."

As it seems, the Kevin Durant-Draymond Green saga eventually came to a definitive end. The Golden State Warriors are entering the 2022-23 NBA season as defending champions while Durant's Nets have yet to make it past the Eastern Conference semifinals, but the beef appears to have been squashed for good. And that may be because Durant's November 2018 altercation with Green might not have pushed him away from the Warriors after all — emphasis on "might."

On August 18, 2021, Durant appeared on Green's Bleacher Report podcast "Chips" as the two former teammates cleared the air and touched base on the infamous fight. This time, KD clarified that he actually left because of how Warriors management botched the handling of the altercation. "It wasn't the argument," Durant told Green. "It was the way that everybody, [including head coach] Steve Kerr, acted like it didn't happen. [General manager] Bob Myers just tried to just discipline you and think that would put the mask over everything." Green would agree with this sentiment, saying later on that he wanted to hash things out privately with Durant and that management didn't need to tell him to apologize.

So was it because of the argument or because of management? It's really hard to say for sure, but there was almost certainly a period of time in which Durant just couldn't stand Green — and vice versa.

In a 2021 interview with NBC Sports, Durant stated that he felt no animosity toward Green. In fact, he revealed that they were still in contact. Durant said, "I've seen Draymond. We saw each other at a restaurant. It's good to see him and his family." He explained that he and his former team members will always have an unbreakable bond. Durant added, "I'm very grateful for my time in the Bay Area and I'll always be a Warrior in my heart." Green echoed this sentiment on an episode of Carmelo Anthony's podcast "What's in your Glass?" According to Nets Wire, Green denied having any hard feelings over Durant's decision to leave the Golden State Warriors for the Brooklyn Nets.

He told Anthony (via Heavy), "That's my brother; we've done some special s*** together, but even beyond us winning a championship together. I got nothing but love for that brother. I love that man. That's my brother." He went on to say, "One thing I do know is: He got my back in life. Not just on basketball s***. In life, I know if something's f***** up with me, I can turn to him. And vice versa." However, In 2022, Durant and Green got into a series of minor disagreements on Twitter (via The New York Post and Yahoo!). Nevertheless, Fadeaway World reports that Green later defended Durant on the social media platform when a fan insulted the Brooklyn Nets star.