Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green faced backlash after he falsely accused New York Knicks star center Karl-Anthony Towns, who missed the Knicks' game against the Warriors on Tuesday while mourning the death of one of his girlfriend Jordyn Woods's close friends, of avoiding Warriors star Jimmy Butler, with whom he has had tensions with stemming from their time together on the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Green, who made the false accusation during an episode of his podcast, The Draymond Green Show, on Wednesday, addressed the situation while speaking to reporters following the Warriors' 121-119 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday.
Green offered well-wishes to Towns, but added that the comments he made on his podcast were "what he heard."
Q "You seen reaction to your KAT comments [that he ducked game v Warriors]? Were you aware of circumstances?"
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) March 7, 2025
Draymond "No"
Q "He was at funeral for family friend"
Draymond "Oh man…But what I heard was…what I heard…I send well wishes…but the Draymond Green Show will go on" pic.twitter.com/jy0RICbUvv
"Oh man. That's unfortunate. I'm sorry to hear that. That sucks," Green said. "But my comments that I made, was ... 'What I heard was this. That's what I heard.' So I do send my well wishes to him and his family. You know, none of us ... It's inevitable. We all experience death in one way or another, and we'll all experience it in the same way one day. So it's unfortunate."
"You never wish that on anybody. But the Draymond Green Show With Baron Davis must go on. So I definitely wish them well and wish their family well. And I mean it. You know, we all go through that. And it's never easy for anyone. But the Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis will go on."
Green, while recapping Tuesday's win over the Knicks on his podcast, acknowledged that Towns wasn't in the lineup. He admitted he "didn't look that deep into it" and bizarrely speculated that his absence had something to do with the presence of Butler.
"Some would say he didn’t play because Jimmy [Butler] was in the building," Green said. "They said KAT ain’t play because Jimmy came to town."
The perceived tension between Butler and Towns stems from a practice scrimmage during the former's tenure in Minnesota back in 2018-19, in which Butler allegedly exchanged heated words with Towns. However, Towns has since faced off against Butler, including earlier this season back in October, when he scored 44 points in a win over the then-Miami Heat star's team.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Draymond Green Had On-Brand Response to His False Accusation of Karl-Anthony Towns.
