When Michael Wilbon heard Draymond Green complain after a Game 2 road loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves about the “agenda” he perceives to make him “look like an angry Black man,” he related.
The comments came after two incidents at Target Center in Minneapolis. In the second quarter, Green was called for a technical foul for flailing into Timberwolves forward Naz Reid and striking him in the face.
First, Green was recorded snapping back at fans while he was riding the exercise bike near the players’ tunnel. Fans online have stated he was responding to a nearby fan calling him a racial slur.
In response, Green issued a short statement in the locker room postgame before abruptly cutting short his time with the media. Green pushed back on the perception that he is an “angry Black man” by stating that he is instead successful, educated and a family man.
Discussing the situation Friday morning on Get Up, Wilbon came to Green’s defense.
“I smiled when I heard Draymond saying, ‘I’m not an angry Black man,'” Wilbon said. “I am often that person, have been that. I’m older than Draymond, (but) there are things that happen publicly and privately that make you angry.”
Michael Wilbon: “I kind of smiled when I heard Draymond say, ‘I’m not an angry Black man.’ I know exactly what he’s talking about. The portrayal of it. I am often that person, have been that… I like Draymond’s resentment of the characterization.” pic.twitter.com/QVcrKhJf5C
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 9, 2025
Wilbon said that while he didn’t know precisely what Green was responding to with his comments, he had no issue with the four-time NBA champion defending himself.
“I liked Draymond’s resentment of the characterization,” Wilbon said. “Do I find it a big deal? No, I don’t. This is the world.”
For years on Pardon the Interruption, Wilbon has leaned into a grumpy columnist character. But as he explained on Get Up, that type of commentary is received differently when it comes from a Black man. Wilbon quoted tennis legend Arthur Ashe’s famous quote that “being a Black man in America is like having a second full-time job.” Wilbon believes that both he and Green are victims of that burden.
As for Green, it is fair to say that fans, officials and opposing players enter every game against him with a perception. Between his on-court antics, league-imposed suspensions and commentary on his podcast and TNT platforms, Green is a celebrity in the NBA.
Coming off a game in which he may have received racist heckling and was ejected once again, Green clearly had a lot on his mind. He took the high road, offering a brief defense of his personal character before exiting.
By Friday morning, Green had at least one defender in the national media in the form of Michael Wilbon.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.