At an exclusive, post-ESPYs party hosted by LeBron James, Cavs big man Tristan Thompson and Warriors agitator Draymond Green reportedly got into a bit of a kerfuffle, which is not a very surprising thing to hear given how these two treated each other on the court during the NBA Finals. Bossip was the first outlet to report on the altercation, and The Athletic has since followed up with some details:
[E]veryone was stunned when Thompson, according to sources, out of nowhere attacked Green.
No argument. No squaring up. No taking it outside.
“It was a sucker punch,” said one source who attended the party. “But, to be honest, it wasn’t really a punch. It was more like a shove.”
It was a face mush, another source described it. Other reports have described it as a legit punch, maybe even a quick one-two.
Whatever it was, Green was incensed, according to the sources.
The ensuing fracas apparently forced LeBron and Kevin Durant to break it up, saying something along the lines of, “this isn’t that type of party.”
Green and Thompson, of course, have met in the Finals each of the last four seasons—each with varying degrees of contention—but this past season’s series was particularly heated. In Game 1—the J.R. Smith Game—the two got into an altercation in overtime. After Thompson was ejected, Green repeatedly yelled, to no one in particular but definitely in Thompson’s direction, “Get him out of here!” Thompson promptly responded with a shove to Green’s face, one I assume can’t be too far off from the one he threw at LeBron’s party.
Then, after the series was over, Green refused to give Thompson a customary, cordial dab on the court. Thompson seemed friendly enough, walking up to Green to say their parting goodbyes with a smile and his arm out, but as soon as Green saw the Cavs big man in his sight lines, the league’s preeminent heel uttered, “I don’t fuck with you” directly to Thompson’s face.
During the championship parade, Green doubled down, confirming that he did say something after Game 4, prefacing that confirmation by saying that “[Tristan and I] just ain’t cut the same.”
Apparently, at this most recent confrontation at the Delilah restaurant in West Hollywood, they just carried on and continued to coexist at the party with no further issues. Regardless, tempers flared—sentiments remain. I’m excited to see this beef boil over on the court next season.