Is coming off of suspension the beginning of the end for Draymond Green and the Golden State Warriors dynasty?

On and off the court, Green is always working to improve himself and help his team get better. By showing up to the games even when out and footage of Green practicing. But with recent struggles and problems surrounding Green, will he be able to help his team win?

Green is the starting power forward for his team and has played an important part in the four championships the Warriors have won and a big part of the 73-9 team in 2016. The best record in NBA history. 

Coming into the league in 2012, Green was always a leader and the enforcer on the team. However, he is very well known for his trash-talking and his violent acts towards other  players and recently his teammates. That has the sports world wondering, is this the end for Green?

From a practice on Oct. 5, 2022, there’s footage of Green and his former teammate Jordan Poole getting into an altercation that quickly escalated and ended up with Green punching Poole in the face. This led to the team’s struggles and terrible chemistry throughout the 2022-23 season, which was a big reason the Warriors were a second-round exit after winning a championship the previous season. 

Green has always been a loud, very physical enforcer in the NBA and usually, that’s a great thing for the Warriors organization. But has he taken it too far?

According to Fox News on Dec. 12, 2023, Playing against the Phoenix Suns in the third quarter, fighting for position and trying to find footing, as [Jusuf] Nurkic continued to apply pressure in the corner, Green turned around and punched Nurkic in the face. This later caused Green his 18th career ejection, and his first indefinite suspension.”

In a interview with ESPN Green was talking about the incident and went on to say, “He was pulling my hip and I was swinging away to sell the call,”

The suspension caused Green to receive an indefinite suspension and ended up missing 12 games. Players all around the league have commented on this incident. 

Kevin Durant, a former teammate of Green, spoke about Green’s behavior and said,  “It’s insane to see… I hope he gets the help he needs to ‘get back on the court.” After hearing this comment and numerous others, Green responded by saying, “I was very pissed,” which caused Green to consider retiring this season. NBA commissioner Adam Silver convinced Green not to retire, saying “You’re making a rash decision,” and has taken Green off suspension. 

Now that Green has returned to the NBA, the question surrounding him remains: is this his last season?