Criticizing the NBA All-Star game is practically its own sport nowadays, but TNT’s Draymond Green took it to another level over the weekend when he bashed the event in real time on the broadcast.
During a break between games, Green was asked by anchor Adam Lefkoe to grade the new mini-tournament format on a scale of one to 10. Green gave it a zero. The Golden State Warriors star proceeded to rip the inclusion of the Rising Stars and the target score, claiming it wasn’t real basketball.
Green’s comments led the news cycle around another disappointing NBA All-Star weekend, but drew the ire of at least one major voice in sports media. On an episode of his What’s Wright podcast, FS1 host Nick Wright acknowledged that the game was subpar again while arguing Green was the exact wrong messenger that night — and perhaps is jealous.
“He’s right about the Rising Stars shouldn’t be playing Sunday night. I actually think that is correct,” Wright said. “But as often happens with Draymond, while being correct, his delivery of the information is so poorly done that it’s lost. And being on the pregame show for an event, I felt so badly for my dear friend Adam Lefkoe, who is the one who asked him the ‘1 to 10’ question, and then Draymond says, ‘a zero, this sucks.’ Buddy, your job in that moment is to create excitement for the event.”
The negativity was jarring on TNT’s broadcast of the game, but Green was not alone in it. The Inside the NBA crew made jokes from the sideline as usual, while guest emcee Kevin Hart jeered players in real time.
But for Draymond Green to take the moment of a big platform connected to the NBA and rip the league, that was a bridge too far for Wright. The First Things First star couldn’t help but wonder whether Green’s negativity in this case came from his own jealousy.
“That’s just rude. And it’s unprofessional,” Wright added. “He is not the arbiter or the czar of All-Star history. He just isn’t. I just found it really, I’m going to use a nerdy word, uncouth. Steph and Durant are there and playing in it. They are taking it seriously. And for you to be like, ‘it sucks, it’s not basketball.’ Would he be feeling that way if he had been selected?”
Green made three straight All-Star teams from 2015-18, but has fallen off into his mid-30s. Since the Warriors’ last championship in 2022, Green has made more news for his off-court issues and the headlines he makes on TNT and his podcast.
It’s hard to imagine Green was so overcome by jealousy or FOMO that he lied through the broadcast, secretly enjoying it backstage. But Wright is accurate when he says that Green’s job as an ambassador for the NBA on TNT is, if not to find the silver linings, at least to be reasonable. Fans choosing to spend their time watching the game don’t need a downer.
The last intriguing element of this brewing beef is Wright bashing a fellow Klutch client in Draymond Green. For years, NBA fans have pestered Wright over his fandom of LeBron James, accusing him of defending James because they share an agency. Yet in this case, we’re seeing Klutch-on-Klutch crime as Wright lights up the Warriors legend (who, by the way, is soon to be a media colleague).
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.