Celtics Warriors’ Draymond Green recalls racist taunts from Celtics fans during NBA Finals ahead of return to TD Garden “I’ll greet them with a nice smile. Just as I did after we won the championship.” Draymond Green drew the ire from the TD Garden crowd throughout the 2022 NBA Finals. Jim Davis/Globe Staff
Draymond Green is no stranger to vitriol from opposing fanbases.
But during the 2022 NBA Finals, the hostility doled out by Celtics fans at TD Garden managed to throw even a hardened heel like Green off his game.
“You usually have situations where people talk crazy, but not the entire arena,” Green told ESPN’s Kendra Andrews of the atmosphere at TD Garden. “You’ll have a situation where an entire arena will boo you, but not what the Boston fans were doing. So, it was just a different situation than I had ever seen. It took a while to adjust to it … It was just so unexpected. It caught me off guard.”
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Green and the Warriors will return to Boston on Thursday, seven months after they defeated the Celtics in the 2022 NBA Finals.
For Green, the Warriors clinching that championship on the parquet floor in Boston — the first NBA team to win a title at TD Garden — was a satisfying result, given the racist taunts he heard at the Celtics’ home arena.
“It was such a beautiful thing,” Green said of Golden State’s Game 6 clincher. “With Steph Curry doing what Steph Curry does and the guy they chose to call the N-word. It was beautiful.”
Green’s intensity on the court and outspoken nature makes him a regular target for jeers across the NBA. But the relentless barrage of taunts in Boston had an effect on Green in Game 3, with the veteran forward scoring just two points before fouling out.
“Whenever you know what to expect, you can plan for it. I’ve been around for 11 years so I thought I had seen it all. But that, I had never seen before,” Green told Andrews. “I guess with this, there was no real way to prepare for it. Except mentally know what you’re walking into. When that happens I can tune it out. But that first time I couldn’t tune it out.”
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Green had the last laugh in his most-recent matchup at the Garden, posting 12 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists, two blocks, and two steals in that Game 6 triumph.
On Thursday night, Green expects the same icy reception from Celtics fans. But the four-time NBA champion says he’ll take it in stride.
“I’ll greet them with a nice smile,” Green said of Celtics fans. “Just as I did after we won the championship.”