SAN FRANCISCO– Draymond Green was not happy with how the officials interacted with him in the wake of the Golden State Warriors' 131-124 loss to the Detroit Pistons. After the game, Green blasted referee J.T. Orr for putting a hand in his face as he argued about a missed call on Isaiah Stewart holding him as Green made a cut to the paint.
“I find it very ironic that I got a technical file for telling a Caucasian referee not to put his hand in my face,” Green said. “As a Black man in America, don't put your hand in my face. And I said, ‘Hey, don't put your hand in my face.' And I gotta tech. So I thought that was the most interesting thing of the night. Next to my bobblehead.”
The interaction occurred around the 8:44 mark in the second quarter after head coach Steve Kerr challenged the call in search of the approximate foul. The events Green recounted seem to have taken place when he followed Orr on his walk to the officials' table to review the play, with Green continuing to argue the missed call, prompting Orr to deliver him his 10th technical foul on the season.
“Everybody want to talk about holding a line of respect; that line needs to be held both ways,” Green continued. “If the line won't be held both ways, then the line won't be held from my way either. Because we all men. We all can make decisions and choices. So let that be the last time that happens.”
Draymond Green's history with officials
Green said he'd been arguing with Orr and the officials prior to the tech about the Pistons getting away with potential delay-of-game calls. He pointed to Ausar Thompson holding the ball after made-baskets to impede the Warriors from taking the ball out quickly. Green went a step further by saying Steph Curry did a similar thing on the opposite end, which drew a delay-of-game call against the Warriors, noting the double standard.
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“Same referee, J.T. Orr, he's like, ‘Oh, well, maybe you got a point,'” Green recounted. No shit, it's the rule. Can't change the rule in the middle of the game. So, yeah, that's what the conversation was about… It's unfortunate the rules change from person to person.”
Draymond Green sounded off on the officials from tonight for giving him a technical foul:
“I find it very ironic I got a technical foul for telling a Caucasian referee not to put his hand in my face. As a black man in America, don’t put your hand in my face.”
Full soundbite: pic.twitter.com/TH92Cv3iSO
— Kenzo Fukuda (@kenzofuku) January 31, 2026
With this technical foul, Green is six away from receiving an automatic one-game suspension per the NBA's technical foul count policy. Green's obviously had a history with the officials, given the 209 technical fouls he's collected over the course of his career. Green has long felt as though referees officiate him differently based on his reputation.
“I've had interactions with all of them,” Green said briskly to the laughter of the reporters, putting a nice bow on his last comments of the incident.