Draymond Green Has Some Fighting Words For The Charlotte Hornets
Jan 20, 2026
Draymond Green is extremely skilled at picking a team apart when he’s on the hardcourt. For better or for worse, he also has an inclination to take shots at other ball clubs when he has a microphone in front of him.
In a recent episode of “The Draymond Green Show,” the four-time NBA champion decided to take aim at the Charlotte Hornets. There is no heated rivalry between the Hornets and Green’s Golden State Warriors, nor are they a direct threat to the Warriors’ playoff aspirations. Still, Green had a bone to pick with the 16–27 team that currently ranks 12th in the Eastern Conference.
So, what drew Green’s ire? “The Charlotte Hornets are a team that’s tanking right in your face, in plain sight,” he said on his podcast. “The fact that they have LaMelo Ball coming off the bench I found very interesting.”
Green went on to share an observation from the Warriors’ matchup against the Hornets this past Saturday. “LaMelo had it going. He hit multiple 3s in a row… and then, in the third quarter, he came out at around the five-minute mark. He did not come back into the game, no matter what was going on, until the fourth quarter with four minutes to go.”
The Hornets went on to lose the game 136–116 on their home turf. While Green was no doubt happy that the Warriors picked up another victory, he apparently doubted that the Hornets wanted to win in the first place.
In the bigger picture, however, Charlotte could have something to gain from racking up as many losses as they could. For months, a number of NBA Draft prospects have gotten scouts salivating: Kansas standout Darryn Peterson, BYU big man AJ Dybantsa, and second-generation athlete Cam Boozer, just to name a few.
The lower the Hornets are in the standings, the bigger their chances that they’ll land one of these top-tier talents. However, all the losing might ultimately be in vain if NBA Commissioner Adam Silver decides to implement policy changes that will render tanking useless.
At this point, there’s no concrete timetable for the implementation of such changes. It’s a safe bet, though, that Green will be applauding those changes when they come out. For now, though, he’ll have to settle for calling out a lowly team for their alleged tanking scheme.
