Draymond Green suggests NBA fines harm players’ ability to accumulate retirement wealth: ‘Not set up for us’
By
Chantz Martin Fox News
Published
May 25, 2024 10:12pm EDT
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Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green is one of the most outspoken players in the NBA.
He was a key member of the Warriors dynasty, but he’s also been involved in multiple on-court disputes with referees or other players.
Many of those incidents have led to suspensions and fines, and the 34-year-old has accumulated roughly $900,000 in fines in his NBA career, according to data from Spotrac.
The four-time NBA champion also lost millions in salary as he served multiple suspensions without pay.
Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors during a game against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedEx Forum Jan. 15, 2024, in Memphis. (Justin Ford/Getty Images)
In December, Green was suspended indefinitely after he was involved in an on-court altercation with Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic. He was reinstated in January and lost just shy of $2 million in wages while serving the suspension, according to ESPN.
While the amount of money Green has lost due to fines and suspensions is a fraction of his career earnings, he recently argued the punishments can hurt an NBA player’s ability to accumulate enough wealth for retirement.
Draymond Green (23) of the Golden State Warriors shoots over Desmond Bane (22) of the Memphis Grizzlies in the first half at Chase Center March 20, 2024, in San Francisco. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
“The fines to me don’t make sense,” Green said on an episode of Shaquille O’Neal’s “The Big Podcast with Shaq.”
When you talk about as hard as we work to accumulate wealth, coming from situations that most people never make it out, and then you get fined the way we get fined, it’s actually not set up for us to be wealthy after we’re done playing,” Green said.
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green jogs off the court after being ejected during the second half of a game against the Phoenix Suns Dec. 12, 2023, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
“This job is not set up, the way we’re taxed, the way we’re fined. … If I do something wrong, I lose $100,000. It took my mom four years when I was growing up to make $100,000. And I lose that in a night because what? The referee got mad at me, and he didn’t like what I said to him. So, I lose $5,000 like that? Like, on a tech?”
Green inked a four-year contract extension with the Warriors in late June. He was named the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2017.
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Chantz Martin is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.
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