Golden State’s star forward Draymond Green was understandably emotional when he heard the news late this week that he was selected to the Western Conference All-Star team for the first time in his career.
Though Green’s selection was widely anticipated — after all, he’s averaging 14.5 points, 9.4 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game while playing excellent defense, all on a historically-great team — it remains a landmark achievement for any player, and especially so for a second-round pick like Green who faced long odds just to crack an NBA rotation.
In an interview with ESPN, Green let it slip that he almost cried upon hearing the announcement, but avoided it for one very specific reason:
“I almost started crying … but I didn’t want them to make me the crying face instead of Jordan.” –Draymond Greenhttps://t.co/r0qU97drrE
— ESPN (@espn) January 29, 2016
The NBA on TNT crew was clearly listening, because shortly after that interview, a new “Crying Jordan” meme was born. And Green, for his part, seemed to very much enjoy it.
???????????? RT @NBAonTNT: Behind the scenes when @Money23Green got the #NBAAllStarTO news.
Sorry, Draymond…. pic.twitter.com/TRAVEGlePT
— Draymond Green (@Money23Green) January 30, 2016
Green and his Warriors (42-4) return to action on Saturday in Philadelphia (7-40), and that .764 gap in win percentage is the largest in NBA history among teams that have played at least 40 games. If things go as planned, Green should have ample opportunities to pin the “Crying Jordan” on someone else.
Ben DuBose is a veteran sports reporter who has followed the Houston Rockets and the NBA since Hakeem Olajuwon was Akeem Olajuwon. He writes for both SheridanHoops and ClutchFans, an independent Rockets blog. You can follow him on Twitter.