Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors
As it relates to his most-recent feud with Green, we have to cut Pierce some slack. Draymond is plenty annoying himself.
Of course, it’s the repeated kicks at his opponents (especially in the groin area) that garner the most publicity. A skilled lawyer could probably argue that coming down for a rebound, his natural body motion is to kick out. Still, dozens of rebounds are contested every night in the NBA. Only one player seems to have this repeated problem.
Additionally, his tap of LeBron James’ groin in the 2016 NBA Finals was clearly not involuntary and the subsequent suspension might have cost the Warriors a championship (more on that here).
Really, it doesn’t even end there.
Green being called for a foul is not a rare occurrence. Him being called for a foul that’s not followed by several seconds of theatrics, however, is. The call can be blatant, too. It rarely matters. Professional athletes are creatures of habit and one of Draymond’s habits is to fiercely protest every call going against him.
Additionally, while Green may think he never commits fouls, he seems to think fouls are consistently committed against him. Draymond rarely takes a shot — especially in the paint — that isn’t accompanied by him screaming “And 1!”
On top of that, Green also spends a lot of time bickering with opponents on the floor. Still, he’s the kind of player that you love having on your team.
But if he’s an opponent, he brings justifiable scorn.