Draymond Green of Golden State Warriors reacts to a referee during NBA playoffs Game 6 between the Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors at Chase Center on May 2, 2025, in San Francisco.
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The referees for Sunday’s Game 7 between the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets confused just about everyone with a call on (who else?) Draymond Green.
With 1:39 left in the first half, Green was looking to make a pass from above the 3-point line when Rockets guard Fred VanVleet reached in and knocked the ball away, committing a foul in the process. Green swung his arms after losing the ball and hit VanVleet’s neck with his left hand.
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Green appeared to give an extra shove to VanVleet, knocking the guard back to the court. It immediately led to an official review that had many assuming Green would be assessed a flagrant foul, given the contact to VanVleet appeared unnecessary (which is the definition of a flagrant, per the NBA). Instead, the officials handed Green a technical foul because the contact happened after the whistle.
It’s the second instance in this series where Green has been at the heart of a confusing “technical or flagrant” foul situation. In Game 4, Green was handed a flagrant foul for contact to Rockets reserve Tari Eason in a heated exchange. At the time, Green had already received a technical foul, so a technical for the Eason interaction would have led to Green’s ejection.
The two different rulings on what seem to be similar plays prompted San Francisco Standard reporter Danny Emerman to write on X, “The line between technical and flagrant fouls has never been more blurred.” Others blasted the referees for the inconsistency with the calls, as NBA reporter Nate Duncan wrote the correct ruling in the Game 7 play only further highlighted how bad the Game 4 call was.
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Draymond Green assessed a technical foul for flailing after Fred VanVleet reached in. VanVleet has three personals, and the line between technical and flagrant fouls has never been more blurred
— Danny Emerman (@DannyEmerman) May 5, 2025
That foul/technical combo on Draymond is how his flagrant foul should have been called in Game 4. After the whistle act = technical every time I’ve seen it. Of course, had it been called that way, Draymond would have been ejected from the game.
— Nate Duncan (@NateDuncanNBA) May 5, 2025
While the technical was a down moment, Green was otherwise stellar in the strong first half for Golden State. Green had 10 points, five rebounds and two assists as the Warriors led 51-39 at halftime of the win-or-go-home matchup.
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May 4, 2025
