Warriors Star Claims He Was Punished $35,000 For Avoiding A Bully As Truth Behind 8-YO Story Emerges

Fights in the NBA aren’t rare. Some get forgotten, while others pop back up in the most random ways. And leave it to Draymond Green to bring an old one back to life. He recently opened up about an on-court brawl from eight years ago—one that cost him a hefty fine. The incident is in the past, but Green, never one to let things slide, brought it back up on a podcast. And in true Draymond fashion, he had a lot to say.

Draymond Green doesn’t hold back. He’s loud, intense, and always ready to stir the pot. With four championships and plenty of run-ins on the court, he’s built a reputation. But even with everything he’s been involved in, one fight from 2017 still doesn’t sit right with him.

On a recent episode of The Draymond Green Show, Baron Davis asked John Wall about his favorite memory of facing Draymond. Instead of choosing a highlight-reel play, Wall immediately brought up one of the NBA’s craziest fights. “We had a funny brawl. Remember that brawl we had? Draymond didn’t go to sleep,” Wall joked, bringing up the wild 2017 Warriors-Wizards clash.

Draymond wasn’t laughing. He saw things completely differently. “Man, listen, I got bullied. Brad bullied. Brad wanted to be a bully that night. I got bullied,” Green said. “I tried not to let myself get slammed.  And I still got fined $35,000.” He was heated. And honestly, you can see why. Draymond has started plenty of fights, but this time? He got attacked. Yet somehow, he still had to pay up.

John Wall then jumped in with his own hilarious memory from that night. “And then on top of that, I run over there to see what’s going on. And I get punched by Kelly Oubre Jr. I got punched by my teammate. I look back like, damn, who un-stole me? It’s my own teammate. I said, I ain’t going in no fight.” Wall was dying laughing. He still can’t believe it happened.

Then, he took a second to defend Draymond. “No, but I just think Draymond gets discredited for a lot of stuff he does. But he plays with that old-school mentality. You know what I mean? Like, he comes with that grit and grind.” The fight might be old news, but Draymond still isn’t over how the NBA handled it. He’s paid plenty in fines. But getting hit with a $35,000 penalty just for trying to stay on his feet? Yeah, that one still stings. But what really happened 8 years ago?

Draymond Green’s 8-Year-Old NBA Brawl Resurfaces as Truth Finally Comes to Light

The podcast may have reignited the conversation, but this all went down on October 27, 2017, during a Warriors-Wizards game at the Oracle Arena. Late in the second quarter, Bradley Beal and Draymond Green got tangled up, and things escalated fast. Beal smacked Green in the face from behind. Within seconds, they locked up, wrestling to the ground while teammates rushed in to break it up.

Refs wasted no time. They ejected both Beal and Green on the spot. The league reviewed everything and handed out fines. According to ESPN, Beal got hit with a $50,000 fine, while Green—despite taking the first hit—had to cough up $25,000 for “failing to disengage.” Now, wait a second… $25,ooo? Didn’t Draymond just claim to have paid $35,000?

Well here is an interesting speculation. 8 years ago, Green directed his ire at an NBA executive. “They got presidents of teams giving middle fingers on national TV and nothing’s said,” he said.

Green further added, “You don’t want to shine the light on somebody else. They got someone else to be the bad guy, so I’ll just keep being me. I guess I’m not supposed to be me. I tried that. That s— don’t work, either. So, it is what it is. I wish I had a better answer, but I really don’t have a better answer. Failing to disengage? I don’t know what that means. Getting punched, grabbed, and slammed is maybe what that means.”

Based on such harsh words it’s safe to say that he probably got fined an extra $10,000 for this statement. What do you think? Did Green really pay 35,000$ or did he simply misspeak?

Then there’s Kelly Oubre Jr. He got fined $15,000, which makes Wall’s story about getting punched by his own teammate even funnier looking back.

Draymond didn’t take the punishment lightly. “It seemed like I got fined for getting punched,” he said back in 2017. “I don’t know how you get fined $25,000 for being attacked.” Eight years later, he still feels the same way. In his eyes, he didn’t start it. He just tried not to get thrown to the floor. Yet somehow, he still got penalized.

With Draymond recollecting this story, NBA fans just got a fresh reminder of one of the wildest fights in recent memory. Sure, it was a costly night for Green, Beal, and Oubre. But for the players involved, it’s turned into a hilarious NBA story in hindsight.