After Danny Green missed the shot that would’ve clinched Game 5, he received immense backlash that even amounted to death threats to him and his fiancee. Through it all, Green says he won’t be apologizing
Green said back in September that those types of fans won’t be getting an invite to the parade.
On The Ringer NBA Show, Danny Green spoke about the Game 5 shot and how he feels about fans’ reactions.
“You know human nature of fans,” said Danny Green. “They’re just very emotional. They take the game very serious and they see us as performers and if we’re not performing the way we’re supposed to then we’re supposed to apologize for it. No, I don’t owe you an apology. Whether I played shitty or not. You’re not my boss, coach, and I’m not gonna apologize for missing shots. I’ll apologize to my teammates for missed mistakes, missed assignments, if I mess up a play or defensively don’t make a rotation. But no, I don’t owe you anything.”
What he said is true. He shouldn’t be apologizing for missed shots. Things like missed assignments on defense are in a player’s control, but shooting the ball has an element of randomness to it.
People assumed Danny Green had an easy shot, plastering screenshots of him being “wide open” all over social media. However, that wasn’t the case. Looking at the full possession, Green’s shot turned into a difficult shot.
An off-target pass from LeBron caused Green to bobble the pass. Right then, the shot became immensely more challenging. Because of the delay in getting the shot off, Andre Iguodala was able to get a late contest.
Green is a valuable piece on a contender. His track record proves that with his time in San Antonio, Toronto, and now the Lakers. It’s hard to find players that don’t get rattled on the big stage. Even when he isn’t hitting shots, he still brings high I.Q on defense and stabilizes lineups.
It’s a positive that Green is the type of player that isn’t afraid to take that shot. It’s an easy scapegoat, but fans who view that as the do-or-die play are naive.
