Over this last week, the NBA playoffs has been pretty gangster. The Lakers have done aiggght so far, splitting their two games with the Grizzlies, and showing their fans in China that they have flaws like all Americans do. By far the best story has been the Sacramento Kings, who are up on the Warriors, 2 games to 1, and have simply balled their faces off, easily lifting their value by a 2-billion dollars in just the last week, just by winning a few games (in between Tik Tok commercials) on national TV.
“Basketball and Feelings,” a safe space that explores what it’s like to be alive through the rim of NBA basketball, is back again.
We hope you enjoy this week’s entry on Draymond Green, the Caravaggio of the modern day NBA.
You fuckung love Draymond Green. You fucking do. How can you not. He’s such fun; the way he games the system; for most people this was a normal week, but for losers like me who watch the NBA, the story of the week, the one that was running on our minds like an infection when we shoulda been on reddit boards discussing Succession or speaking to our rabbis about ChatGpt, was the most recent saga from Draymond Green, who really-really knows how to push the NBAs buttons. It’s kinda hilarious that the NBA season started with Draymond literally punching his own teammate in the face because. I get it, it’s hard to accept your colleague is making more money than you when you’ve been on the team for so much longer, but someone needs to tell Draymond to check his privilege.
Now the year has ended with that very same player (DRAYMOND GREEN) getting suspended from a playoff game for kicking? stomping? fromping? on the chest of Domantas Sabonis like he was rock climbing in the Himalayas, or Duane the Rock Johnson-ing in the WWE… do we get a cookie?
(Adam) Silver lining: At least, (unlike the other guy who he smacked), Sabonis was on the other team.
I don’t know if you remember this but apparently Draymond released an apology-video after the original smack-incident back in October. This time he seems perfectly fine sitting out a game or two in the playoffs to prove a point, even if it costs his team a potential NBA championship.
Coach Kerr said the Warriors are backing Green no matter what; without Green they don’t win a single championship, he tells some reporters. He’s 100 percent right about that.
Personally, I don’t think Draymond cares. At this point it doesn’t feel like Draymond Green is playing for the Warriors beyond this season anyway. He’s playing for Draymond Green! Draymond Green’s contract next year and Draymond Green’s career as the Michael Jordan of podcasting, TV personality, whatever paves the path to the next golden chapter of the Draymond Green legend. Because nobody who wants to stay at their job puts their team in such a precarious situation. (Nobody is mean to Steph Curry.)
The joy of watching Draymond “negotiate” is that it’s so familiar 2 those of us who have done it recently in our own careers, those of us sick of rules put into place by warlords and TITANS OF INDUSTRY of the past who decided that working in the office, for example, was the only way to be productive in the workplace.
Not everyone deserves to employ you, that’s what Draymond Green is saying when he stomps on the chest of Domantas Sabonis. “Soft quitting,” he screams, when he gets suspended for a game. “Fuck you,” he says, every time he does something crazy, “pay me.”
Goodfellas: Fuck You, Pay Me 🤑
As always, thanks so much for reading.
Stay healthy, and see ya next week—
AL