Draymond Green scolds Spurs for ‘disheartening' actions after NBA Finals loss originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
The San Antonio Spurs learned a few hard lessons during their 2026 NBA Finals loss to the New York Knicks, and to hear Draymond Green tell it, they have another still to go.
The Warriors forward took to his podcast, “The Draymond Green Show,” to admonish the young Spurs for what he called a “disheartening” lack of leadership as the team left the floor following Saturday’s series-ending defeat without offering any formal congratulations to the victorious Knicks.
“Oh, by the way, y’all ain’t going to come shake [Jalen Brunson’s] hand?” Green said. “No problem. What’s the first thing Jalen Brunson did? Beeline to [Spurs coach] Mitch Johnson. Respect. Much respect. I would have loved for the Spurs players to be there for them to shake [the Knicks’] hands. They walked off. That was disappointing, a bit disappointing.”
New York secured its first NBA championship since 1973 by beating San Antonio in five games, with the title-decider coming on the Spurs’ home floor. When the final buzzer sounded on a 94-90 Knicks win, nearly every Spurs player—including star center Victor Wembanyama—left the floor immediately.
Per reports, only the San Antonio coaching staff and backup center Luke Kornet remained to offer their respects to New York players.
“The reason it was disappointing is because when you go ‘mano y mano,’ toe to toe, blow for blow with a team and they get the better of you, those that become champions look them in their eyes and say ‘respect.’” Green said of the Spurs’ postgame exit. “And then you go to the locker room. That’s what those that become champions do…Look your killer in the face.”
Green did give San Antonio some grace, conceding that the team is generally very young and lacks the veteran presence that might have helped avoid what he saw as a lapse in sportsmanship.
“To see [the Spurs] walk off the court, it was disheartening. I’ll blame it on youth,” Green said. “I’ll blame it on lacking the leader to show them that ‘hey, this is what you do. Not walk off.’ I blame it on that.
“There’s a way to win and there’s a way to lose. And walking off the court, not looking your killer in his eyes, ain’t the way to lose…I hate it. I hate when people do it. And I hated to see those young Spurs do it because I actually think they’re capable of doing something special…and I would urge those young Spurs [to] reach out to Jalen Brunson however you can. Reach out to Karl-Anthony Towns however you can. Reach out to Josh Hart, however you can. You tell [those] dudes ‘congratulations.’”
The Knicks, for their part, didn’t appear all that concerned.
