Dillon Brooks claims he's a better player than Draymond Green after Grizzlies' win over Warriors
If you thought the beef between Draymond Green and Dillon Brooks would cool down after a Memphis Grizzlies win over the Golden State Warriors, well, that's on you.
As it turns out, the Grizzlies getting their first win of the season against the Warriors in three tries proved to be just the shot in the arm needed for one of the more lopsided NBA feuds in recent memory.
This current chapter began with Brooks doing an ESPN interview and saying, among other things, "I don't like Draymond at all." Green responded in very Green fashion, by laying into Brooks on his podcast, basically pointing to the scoreboard and saying the Grizzlies will never become the dynasty they believe they can be if they're relying on Brooks.
All of this made for a lovely promo for Thursday's Warriors-Grizzlies game, and wouldn't you know it, Green and Brooks got into it:
Draymond and Dillon Brooks getting chippy 👀 pic.twitter.com/a3QCKBUzhl
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 10, 2023
The real fireworks came after the game, a lopsided, 131-110 win for the Grizzlies, despite their still missing Ja Morant. Brooks finished the game with 14 points on 6-of-15 shooting with six assists, while Green had 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals and 5 turnovers.
The loss continued a brutal season on the road for the 34-33 Warriors, who are now 7-26 away from Chase Center.
Brooks started the postgame proceedings by calling Green's podcast "cute."
"Keep doing his podcast. ... It's cute, it's fun for him."
Dillon Brooks on Draymond Green 👀 pic.twitter.com/0foIEnHutn— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 10, 2023
Speaking with reporters later, Brooks shrugged off Green's comments with a dubious claim.
Dillon Brooks was asked if Draymond Green’s comments offended him:
“No, because I know I’m a better player than him.”— Damichael Cole (@DamichaelC) March 10, 2023
Now, far be it from us to point to one player and deem him better (especially since irrational self-confidence is what fuels the vast majority of NBA players). But let's take a quick look at some résumés.
Green is a four-time All-Star, four-time NBA champion, one-time Defensive Player of the Year, seven-time All-Defense and two-time All-NBA team member in 11 seasons with the Warriors. Brooks ... has been a consistent starter for the Grizzlies the past four years.
Anyway, Brooks went on to make a much stronger point, noting that it was rich that Green insinuated his Grizzlies teammates didn't like him when Green is the one who punched a teammate before the season:
Dillon Brooks said it was a “low blow” for Draymond Green to try to put his Grizzlies teammates against him when he made his podcast comments.
“I ain’t out there getting into physical altercations with my teammates.”— Damichael Cole (@DamichaelC) March 10, 2023
Meanwhile, Green was chafing at the idea that the Warriors have a rivalry with the Grizzlies, again noting that the Grizzlies don't exactly have the résumé to match up with the Warriors.
Draymond says Warriors-Grizzlies isn't a rivalry because Memphis hasn't won anything meaningful pic.twitter.com/96TGZg1Qij
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 10, 2023
Who wins this round? People who love pointless NBA drama, obviously.