Draymond Green can never stay out of his own way, and that apparently also includes games where his son is in the crowd celebrating his birthday.
In what should have been a sweet and heartwarming night for father and son in the Golden State Warriors’ 120-97 victory over the Orlando Magic, where the entire Chase Center home crowd serenaded Draymond Green Jr., better known as DJ, with an enthusiastic “Happy Birthday” rendition to celebrate his ninth birthday, his dad had to spoil the good vibes.
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Dec. 18, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) reacts against the Phoenix Suns in the second half at Mortgage Matchup Center. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
His four-time NBA champion dad stole the spotlight for all the wrong reasons when a heated exchange between the four-time All-Star and head coach Steve Kerr was caught by a fan, eventually leading to Green, 35, storming off the court and into the locker room.
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Draymond Green heads to the locker room after a fiery exchange with Steve Kerr 👀
(via @shubhydoo)pic.twitter.com/oi3eRR0crQ
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) December 23, 2025
It was an ugly moment for a team trying to find it’s way in the loaded Western Conference, and it ruined all of the good vibes that DJ had experienced earlier in the game, with Draymond beaming from ear-to-ear and clapping along with the rest of Dub Nation.
Chase Center sang Happy Birthday to Draymond Jr. during the timeout 🥹 pic.twitter.com/gvhwK5mjOG
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) December 23, 2025What exactly happened between Kerr and Draymond?
Dec. 28, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) and head coach Steve Kerr react to game play against the Phoenix Suns during the third quarter at Chase Center. | Robert Edwards-Imagn Images
Kerr was asked about it after the game.
“We got into it, obviously… We had it out a little bit,” Kerr said. “And he made his decision to go back to the locker room. I told him to cool off, and that’s all I’m going to say about it.”
Steve Kerr said Draymond Green chose to go to the locker room after the two had a heated argument during an early third quarter timeout. He wasn’t sent there. Green returned to bench for fourth quarter but Kerr said he wouldn’t have gone back to Green.
Full soundbite pic.twitter.com/SPZvuqteIB
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) December 23, 2025
Kerr though, did make it clear that even when Green, who has the second-most ejections of all time, trailing only Rasheed Wallace for that dubious honor, returned to the bench in the fourth quarter, there was no way the former Defensive Player of the Year was getting back into the game.
It’s a sad set of circumstances for DJ. But unfortunately for his oldest son, who is often by his father’s side at Warriors games, he’s used to seeing Green get into trouble on the court.
Let’s hope it didn’t ruin DJ’s big birthday night.
Mar. 12, 2022; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) sits on the bench with his son DJ during the third quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks at Chase Center. | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
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