“Punked Gobert So Hard”: Draymond Green’s MJ-Like Play Brings 18,064 Fans to Their Feet, Before Stealing Stephen Curry’s Move

via Imago

It was really a payback time for the Warriors. On Friday, the Dubs suffered an embarrassing defeat at home against the Timberwolves. And to make it worse, Anthony Edwards rubbed it in the face with his trash-talking. A day later, Draymond Green had the perfect opportunity to repay the Minnesota side with an explosive play at the late end of tonight’s game. Importantly, the 4x Champ left the fans mesmerized after he borrowed a special move from Stephen Curry.

The Golden State Warriors‘ defensive unit did all the hard work, taming the Wolves’ offense. In the last 5 minutes, Ant-Man & Co. didn’t make a single bucket, thanks to Green and Gary Payton II’s excellent lockdown defense. So, the team only had to close out the game better. And Green took up the responsibility for that too.

With 45 seconds remaining on the clock, Draymond Green drove the ball up with a 6-point lead. The star power forward had Rudy Gobert in an isolation battle, and he brilliantly foxed him, ending the play with a runway dunk. Poetically, hitting the final nail in the coffin. And to further electrify the crowd, precisely 18,064 fans, he pulled out a Night Night celebration, borrowing from his own teammate. In response to the assault, fans online went haywire.

It’s not that often that fans compare a player to MJ unless the player is LeBron James. Tonight, Draymond Green attained that privilege with just one play. Over the years, highlights of plenty of Jordan‘s one-off battles went viral on social media. Tonight, Green reminded everyone of that, with his swaggy isolation with Rudy Gobert. Speaking of the style that Green brought into the play, a fan wrote, “That high dribble before lol he was cooking.” 

In short, we can say that DrayMagic was owning the moment. Before taking off, the star took a moment, dribbling the ball in style in front of Gobert. It was certainly the cue for the disaster to follow up. A fan was quick to satisfy everyone with a video clip along with an important heads up, writing, “Here’s the clip. Can’t wait for Dray’s podcast.” Well, fans often pull up the ‘Podcast’ reference whenever Green engages in an on-court tussle. But tonight he earned the fans’ respect.

Here's the clip😂 can't wait for Dray's podcast pic.twitter.com/V3MFHgtDjx

— Rood J. Murat (@roodmurat)

December 9, 2024

Here’s the clip😂 can’t wait for Dray’s podcast pic.twitter.com/V3MFHgtDjx

— Rood J. Murat (@roodmurat) December 9, 2024

Let’s go a bit more detailed now. A fan didn’t miss a beat, as they pointed out the crucial help that Green received to make that play. It was from Steph. When the power forward ran up the lane, it was Curry who held a screen on Gobert to slow him down for the follow-up. Describing the play, this fan wrote, “Steph and Dray punked Gobert so hard on that play.” That said, now, we can’t ignore the celebration.

We saw King James pulling off the Night Night celebration at the Paris Olympics and tonight; it was Green. And describing it, a fan wrote, “That’s the most aggressive night-night I’ve ever seen.” We usually see Curry pull out that Celly after he sinks a knockout punch. That too, the superstar runs to the defensive end, showing his subtle aggression. But Green ran to the other end with full-blown aggression.

Finally, this fan decided to give a touch of humor to the moment, writing, “Put him to sleep in a different way than last season.” Last season, Green had a controversial moment with Gobert, where he put a chokehold on the big man, and ended up serving a 5-game suspension. Tonight’s performance is a testament to the therapy that the star underwent last season. What do you think? Let us know in the comments.