Draymond Green witnessed a ‘special’ moment unfold on the Golden State Warriors bench Tuesday night.
Led by Jimmy Butler and Steph Curry, the Warriors secured a 121-116 play-in tournament win over the Memphis Grizzlies to book their spot in the playoffs.
Butler, who arrived in a February trade, had 38 points, seven rebounds and six assists as he created opportunities on both ends at every chance.
Curry added 37 more points on a night that Golden State earned the seventh seed in the NBA‘s Western Conference.
While everything went to plan on the court, it was a moment on the sideline that really caught veteran Green’s eye.
And it came courtesy of Trayce Jackson-Davis, who selflessly gave up his spot on the bench to a rookie.
“I want to mention something that I saw today that no one will give a s*** about. Sorry,” Green began, speaking post-game.
“Trayce Jackson-Davis did something on the bench today. He didn’t play in the game. There was no seats left on the bench.
“Quinten Post said, ‘Trayce, can I get that seat?’ And Trayce just got up. A part of me was baffled that he got up for the rookie, because as the rookie, if there’s no seat, you sit on the floor.
“He just got up and gave him the seat. And I walked over to him, I said, ‘That’s one of the most selfless things I’ve ever seen a teammate do because 99% of the time, you’re gonna be like, ‘You’re gonna go sit on the floor, Rook, or go find a seat somewhere else.’
“But he knew he wasn’t part of the rotation, and yet the rookie was. They’re playing the same position, and he literally got up and went and stood in the tunnel, because there were no seats.
Green, who brushed off criticism of the Warriors ahead of the play-in, went on to explain that he was sharing the story to emphasize the team spirit they have heading into the playoffs.
He said: “I just wanted to put that out there, because that to me, that’s why you win games.
“It’s chemistry, it’s selflessness, it’s togetherness. And I just thought that was a huge moment, and nobody else saw it except us three.
“So I wanted to share that, because I thought that was a really big moment for our bench.
“You can make him sit on the floor and nothing happens, or you can get up and boost confidence in him, and he go back out there and hit a three.
“I thought that was special.”
Indeed, a confident Post put up 11 points, two assists and five rebounds in the win against Memphis.
Golden State is now headed for a best-of-seven first-round series with the Houston Rockets, which begins on Sunday.
“It took 83 games but we’re right where we want to be, which is back in the playoffs, and we’ve got a chance,” coach Steve Kerr said after Tuesday’s win.
Curry, meanwhile, was described as a ‘hellified Batman’ by teammate Butler as he chases his fifth NBA Championship.
“We got a hellified Batman in Steph,” Butler, who offered an ice-cold assessment on his Miami return last month, said.
“We’ve got a group of guys that have a lot of fight. Never give up, we did what we were supposed to do, finally.”
