Golden State Warriors Star Draymond Green Defends Giannis Antetokounmpo Following Criticism From NBA Coaches

Draymond Green defends Giannis Antetokounmpo© Instagram/giannis_an34

Draymond Green finally broke his silence on the Doc Rivers and Giannis Antetokounmpo issue. Doc made a comment about Giannis that received a lot of heat from both players and fans. Draymond was next. In the recent episode of The Draymond Green Show, he defended Giannis based on the criticism that the latter received from Doc and the Sacramento Kings head coach, Doug Christie.

Draymond Green Reacts To Giannis Antetokounmpo And Doc Rivers Controversy

In the episode, Green stated, “I don't think Doc was just trying to shoot at Giannis. But I will also say it definitely came off that way, though. It definitely came off, you know, again, when you get name-calling, and you say he's not super high IQ and things like that, that comes off as personal. It just does.” Following this comment, legends within the league issued comments taking Giannis' side. However, the sourness did not stop. The Miami Heat star faced another blow when Doug took a shot at him as well. “Even the shot profile. Shot profile was Giannis shooting a mid-range contested shot. We're living with that. Tonight, he knocked them down. I'll watch him next game, and he probably won't.” Doug stated during the post-game conference.

Reading out the comment, Green added, “Talking about a top 20, top 30, whatever you want to say, Giannis is on the all-time rankings—like, that is crazy to me.” The Golden Warriors star talked about the kind of mutual respect that needs to exist between the players and the coaches. Green admitted that there are certain individual aspects that every player, including Giannis, need to work on. Towards the end, he added, “Giannis got some things he can get better at. Don't we all? But sitting and talking about this man like he not Giannis, the Doug Christie one was crazy to me. Like, that's wild. And I, again, I get what you're getting at, but some things, as a wise man once told me, some things are better left unsaid.”

Giannis Antetokounmpo Responds To Doc Rivers' Criticism

After a game against the Sacramento Kings, Giannis was asked if he had anything to say about Doc Rivers' comments. He kept his response straight and simple. “He is not my coach. My coach is Erik Spoelstra.” Giannis stated, “But he is a coach I have worked with in the past. I am speechless.” It seemed like he had no idea why his former coach would make a statement like that. Giannis ended his statement saying, “You gotta go ask him why he felt that. That's on him. That's not on me. That's crazy.”