Jusuf Nurkić Says Draymond Green ’Needs Help’ After Flagrant Foul and Ejection

Draymond Green was ejected from Tuesday night’s Warriors-Suns matchup during the third quarter after striking Phoenix’s Jusuf Nurkić in the head while jostling for position. 

Green turned in an attempt to create some space and swung his right arm at Nurkić’s head, sending him to the floor. The Warriors forward was assessed a Flagrant 2 foul (“unnecessary and excessive contact committed by a player against an opponent,” according to the NBA) and removed from the game. 

For Green, it was the latest in a long list of incidents involving a blow that caused harm to an opposing player. Earlier this season, he was ejected from a game versus the Jazz after putting center Rudy Gobert in a chokehold during an on-court tussle. That earned Green a five-game suspension.

Draymond Green has been ejected after striking Jusuf Nurkić

(via @TSN_Sports)pic.twitter.com/iGc4HUkIAD

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) December 13, 2023

After the game, Nurkić had little sympathy for Green, considering his history and reputation for such episodes. Asked about the incident. the Suns center had harsh words for his opponent. 

“What’s going on with him? I don’t know,” Nurkić told reporters. “Personally, I feel like that brother needs help. I’m glad he didn’t try to choke me. At the same time, it ain’t nothing to do with basketball.”

Jusuf Nurkic on the Draymond Green Flagrant 2: “What’s going on with him, I don’t know. Personally, I feel like that brother needs help. I’m glad he didn’t try to choke me.” pic.twitter.com/NIVmKSEjmF

— PHNX Suns (@PHNX_Suns) December 13, 2023

Green apologized to Nurkić for hitting him, though he attempted to rationalize why he swung his arm around the way he did. 

“He was pulling my hip and I was swinging away to sell the call and made contact with him,” said Green. “As you know, I’m not one to apologize for things I meant to do, but I do apologize to Jusuf. I didn’t intend to hit him.”

Regardless, another suspension seems certain for Green. That would be another setback for a Warriors team that fell to 11th place in the NBA’s Western Conference following Tuesday’s 119–116 loss to the Suns. If that standing holds, Golden State wouldn’t qualify for a play-in bid to earn one of the West’s final playoff spots.