Draymond Green is in midseason form.
The NBA season tipped off Tuesday night, and Green’s Golden State Warriors headed south to Los Angeles to face the Lakers.
Green got the start, but was subbed out for Al Horford with 5:40 to go in the first quarter. While on the bench, refs missed a basket interference violation on the Lakers, which Green was rather colorful about.
Well, referee Ed Malloy was not having it, and gave Green the T.
It was Green’s 132nd technical of all time, which is only the 20th most in NBA history. Karl Malone is the all-time leader, with 200 more techs than Green.
Green had 18 technical fouls last season, the third-most in the league behind Anthony Edwards and Dillon Brooks. Sixteen technical fouls result in an automatic one-game suspension. He led the league with 21 in 2022-23, was second with 18 the year prior and fourth in 2020-21 with 15.
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Green has finished inside the top 10 of technical foul leaders in each season, except one, since the 2014-15 campaign, leading the league three times.
Despite the early trouble, Green did his vintage work, grabbing seven rebounds and handing out nine assists, tying a game-high plus-20 on the floor along with Jimmy Butler.
Five of Green’s eight points came in the fourth quarter, while he also had two blocks and two assists in the final period of play. It was a 119-109 win for the Warriors over an injury-riddled Lakers team that is currently without LeBron James, who is set to begin his record-breaking 23rd NBA season within the next few weeks.
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