Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green has been in a plethora of altercations during his NBA career.
More often than not, Draymond Green comes out on top in the aforementioned altercations. Even if it means a talented teammate like Jordan Poole getting traded.
However, during the 2015-16 NBA season, the Golden State Warriors star seemingly met his match when he got entangled with the Los Angeles Lakers‘ Metta World Peace (Ron Artest).
Nine years after the infamous squabble, Green has offered clarity about what really went down between him and World Peace.
Photo by David Berding/Getty ImagesDraymond Green denies being ‘scared’ of Metta World Peace
Similar to Green, during the prime of his career, World Peace was a sensational defender as he even won the NBA’s 2003-04 Defensive Player of the Year award.
In fact, the similarities do not end there as both have an aggressive playing style on the hardwood. However, when the face-off happened in 2016, Green and World Peace quickly resolved it.
This led to fans calling out Green as they believed he was scared of the altercation with the then-Lakers star.
“Yeah, y’all taking this out of context. I wasn’t scared. But here’s the beautiful part about this situation. I’m not scared, he ain’t scared,” Green said on his podcast.
He added: “And in the NBA, as you know, when two people aren’t scared, that’s when you just move on. I’m not scared of you, you’re not scared of me, with the utmost respect, we’re gonna move on and do our job.”
As Green made the revelation about the infamous face-off, Artest nodded his head in agreement, supporting the Warriors star.
Why Draymond Green have ‘utmost respect’ for Metta World Peace?
Despite Green being known for his out-of-control aggression on the court, when he respects a guy, he goes over and beyond to make that point clear.
He did the same in the case of Artest, as he explained: “This guy in particular, I have the utmost respect for because of how he played the game, how he went about his business.”
It may have taken nearly a decade, but NBA fans finally know the truth about the altercation between Green and World Peace.
So, no matter how much some may insinuate, there was no chance of another ‘Malice in the Palace’ happening for Metta.