The Oklahoma City Thunder have become the team that everyone loves to hate, and it's due to their continued success and the antics they seem to get away with. One person who can relate to that type of criticism is Draymond Green, who was a part of the Golden State Warriors dynasty back in the day that everyone hated.
On the outside looking in, Green understands where the hate is coming from when it comes to the Thunder, but he thinks that everyone needs to suck it up.
“That's what's going on with them,” Green said via ESPN. “‘They got to be doing something.' Nah, they just figured it out. So now it's everybody else job to figure them out. [The rhetoric] is lazy. I don't respect that at all.”
The one gripe with the Thunder around the league is that they don't get called for fouls. On the other end, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander gets several foul calls throughout the course of the game.
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Green sees, but again, he thinks everyone needs to suck it up.
“Yes, they do foul,” Green said. “Yes, Shai does sell fouls. Yes, Lu Dort does some bulls‐‐‐. Yes, yes, yes, yes. All of that is true. Oh, well. If you can't f—ing beat 'em, shut up. One thing is for certain — a team that only plays to bait fouls, and a player that only plays to bait fouls, it catches up with them in the playoffs. They lose. [The Thunder] won a championship. So shut up.”
Outside of the fouls, the Thunder are one of the most complete teams in the league, and anybody can step up for them at anytime. In their series against the Los Angeles Lakers, it's been Ajay Mitchell who has come alive, and they're doing it all without their second-best player, Jalen Williams.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have become the team that everyone loves to hate, and it's due to their continued success and the antics they seem to get away with. One person who can relate to that type of criticism is Draymond Green, who was a part of the Golden State Warriors dynasty back in the day that everyone hated.