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Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green and head coach Steve Kerr had a violent incident on the bench during their game against the Orlando Magic on Monday night, leading to the player rushing to the locker room.
Green and Kerr were seen having a heated back-and-forth during a timeout in the third quarter. Green then got up and removed himself from the situation, returning to the locker room to cool down. Kerr said even once Green returned to the bench for the rest of the game, he wasn’t going to play.
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Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green yells at the referee during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Orlando Magic, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Justine Willard)
“We obviously went into it and I took the timeout just because I thought we lost focus a little bit,” Kerr said. “We talked about it a bit and he made the decision to go back to the locker room to freshen up and that’s all I’m going to say about it. It’s all private. I have nothing else to add.”
Green had nine points and seven rebounds in the Warriors’ 120-97 victory.
“Tempers flared and I thought I’d better get out of there,” Green said. “I don’t think there was a situation where the situation was going to improve, so it was better to retire. That’s all.”
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Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, center, watches the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Orlando Magic, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Justine Willard)
Green said he was available to play, but it wasn’t his decision. The Warriors improved to 15-15, but the record wasn’t exactly what the team was hoping for. Green said: “That’s probably why tempers are getting heated.”
“Basketball is what we do,” he said of the cause of that frustration. “We play basketball, it’s an emotional game. People lose their emotions sometimes, it happens.”
Kerr said he didn’t think the problem would persist.
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) argues with an official against the Orlando Magic in the second quarter at Chase Center on December 22, 2025. (Eakin Howard/Imagn Images)
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“The group is ready, that showed during tonight’s match,” he explained. “We need Draymond. He’s a champion. We’ve been together a long time. All we can do is keep the rest of the group pushing, keep getting better. I thought it was one of our best games. I thought the first half was brilliant – we just didn’t make any shots. I thought Draymond played well.”
