Minnesota Timberwolves fans at Target Center had a special welcome for Draymond Green ahead of Wednesday's Game 1 of the Western Conference finals against the Dallas Mavericks. Green, the Warriors veteran who was critical of Wolves center Rudy Gobert last round, has been part of TNT's playoff coverage this postseason. Green was on-site for Wednesday's pre-game show as fans treated him to "Draymond sucks!" chants during the broadcast.
Green kept it professional and did not respond to the crowd. Meanwhile, Shaquille O'Neal raised his hand to -- unsuccessfully -- ask the fans to stop. Here's a look:
Timberwolves fans are chanting "Draymond sucks" during TNT's pregame show 😅pic.twitter.com/05S4hUARIG
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 22, 2024
The fans were committed to the chant because Green has shown he doubts their team. During the previous series against Denver, Green said the series was "over" after the Nuggets took a 3-2 lead with a 112-97 victory in Game 5. He said Karl-Anthony Towns was "actually doing a pretty good job" against Nikola Jokic, but he called out Gobert, saying that the Frenchman needed to get a stop.
He then said the Timberwolves had clearly lost belief in themselves and could not win anymore. Minnesota proved him wrong by taking the series to a Game 7 and then finishing the job.
In a game this past November, Green put Gobert in a chokehold on the court during a scuffle between the Warriors and Wolves. He got a five-game suspension.
Green was quick to admit his mistake and said he tips his hat to the Timberwolves. He then took it a step further and said in a recent episode of "The Draymond Green Show" that he is leaning toward Minnesota in what he expects will be a "hell of a matchup" with the Mavericks. However, it has become clear that Timberwolves fans are not going to let the four-time champ off the hook that easily.
