As the NBA Finals move forward after Game 4, Draymond Green questioned Victor Wembanyama’s physical style, calling him “a bit dirty,” while discussing why the league seems to handle the Spurs star with more leeway. With San Antonio down 1–3 to the New York Kni
When the NBA Finals shifted into their next phase after Game 4, Draymond Green didn’t mince words about the player San Antonio has built its hopes around.
On “The Draymond Green Show. ” the four-time NBA champion—who played against Victor Wembanyama for multiple games over the course of three seasons with the Golden State Warriors—offered a blunt assessment of the Spurs’ 22-year-old French star. In response to fan questions. Green suggested Wembanyama plays with a different kind of physicality. saying the NBA is showing him “grace. ” and adding that Wembanyama is “a bit dirty.”.
The exchange started with a question about a moment involving Jalen Brunson and a Knicks-related incident that raised the possibility of escalation. Green was asked if he thought Wembanyama’s shove on New York Knicks guard Jalen should’ve been a flagrant foul. Green’s answer widened into something broader than one play.
He said he realized the NBA is showing the Spurs star “grace. ” so “they’ll have their best player on the court as fans watch the biggest series of the playoffs.” Green also said he wished the league would just admit that it wants the best players on the floor for the series. even if that means “making exceptions.”.
Then came the line that drew the sharpest reaction: “Here’s what I’ll say. Victor Wembanyama is a great player. Victor Wembanyama is a European player, and I’ve been on record saying European players are dirty,” Green said. “Draymond will [expletive] you up. I’m not dirty. It’s a completely different thing.”.
Green continued by framing the difference in style through geography, saying, “Victor Wembanyama is a European player. They are a bit dirty,” and referring to differences in American and international basketball.
He also returned to what fans may feel is the heart of his point: how Wembanyama’s background shapes his aggression. Green suggested fans could also ask other players, and “they would agree he’s not dirty.” But he believes Wembanyama plays “a bit dirtier” because of his hoops background.
That background, in the NBA spotlight, is hard to ignore. Wembanyama began playing professional basketball in France at age 15, continuing with various professional clubs there before going first overall to the Spurs in 2023.
The timing of Green’s remarks matters now. The Spurs are down 1–3 to the Knicks, putting them on the brink of elimination and forcing them to fight for every rebound, loose ball, and every aggressive defensive possession as they try to keep championship hopes alive.
Green’s comments also land in the middle of a foul-risk conversation around Wembanyama. While he didn’t receive a flagrant foul for shoving Brunson, the Finals and the postseason trail behind him. The source facts here are clear: Wembanyama has received three flagrant fouls during the NBA Playoffs. including one recently in the NBA Finals. If he should receive a fourth, he would be automatically suspended for at least one game.
That would be a massive blow to San Antonio. A suspension would likely wrap up the championship in a bow for the New York Knicks.
One fan question on the show brought another physical moment into focus: a play where Wembanyama jumped to defend against the Knicks’ OG Anunoby, with his foot nearly taking out Anunoby’s leg.
Wembanyama’s physicality has been a recurring theme throughout the playoffs, but whether Green is right about “dirty” playing remains unresolved in the facts presented here. Wembanyama has dealt with plenty of contact and has responded.
Even so, Green pointed to what he framed as inconsistency in how the NBA handles the star. He referenced how Wembanyama wasn’t suspended earlier in the playoffs after being ejected for a flagrant for elbowing the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Naz Reid.
A final tension point in all of this is the next game’s location and stakes. NBA Finals Game 5 takes place in San Antonio, beginning at 8:30 p.m. ET on Saturday—exactly where the Spurs, facing elimination, will need Wembanyama on the floor. The league’s “grace,” Green says, could decide whether he stays there.
And with Games 5 and potentially Game 6 looming, the message from Green is plain: if Wembanyama keeps leaning into the kind of aggression Green believes is too much, caution won’t be optional—it will be survival.
Draymond Green Victor Wembanyama Spurs Knicks NBA Finals Game 5 flagrant fouls Jalen Brunson OG Anunoby