The Knicks and Golden State Warriors tip off for the second time this season on Saturday might — which means Draymond Green will once again find himself in familiar territory.
In the hot seat.
Green’s explosive and unfounded comments about Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns went viral after their first meeting on March 4, igniting controversy, backlash and plenty of receipts that aged poorly.
The Warriors forward questioned Towns’ absence from that game, insinuating he was dodging Jimmy Butler, despite Towns’ personal reasons being a much more serious and painful reality.
By the time the truth came out, Green was forced to walk back his words — though even his attempt at an apology managed to promote his own podcast.
Now, 11 days later, Green and Towns meet again — this time with national TV cameras rolling and plenty of tension in the air.
Here’s a timeline of what happened, who was wrong, and where things stand entering Saturday night’s highly anticipated rematch.
KNICKS RULE TOWNS OUT VS. GOLDEN STATE (March 4)
The Knicks initially listed Towns as questionable due to personal reasons on the morning of their March 4 matchup against the Warriors. The designation raised eyebrows — as there’s a stark difference between being questionable for personal matters vs. dealing with an injury, like his previously reported right knee soreness.
Hours later, head coach Tom Thibodeau ruled Towns out for the game. He remained vague on the specifics but made one thing clear: Towns needed time.
“I can’t answer that. I just don’t know,” Thibodeau said when asked if Towns would join the Knicks on their upcoming five-game road trip. “When he’s ready to come back, obviously we want him back, but he just needs some time right now.”
The Knicks went on to lose to the Warriors at Madison Square Garden, 114-102. Later that night, Towns’ girlfriend, Jordyn Woods, posted a pointed message on social media: “F–k cancer.”
That tweet — combined with Thibodeau’s remarks — strongly suggested that Towns’ absence wasn’t basketball-related at all, but rather due to the loss of someone close to him.
DRAYMOND SAYS KAT WAS DUCKING BUTLER (March 5)
The Knicks and Warriors faced off exactly one month after the Feb. 6 NBA trade deadline — a deadline where Golden State made waves, acquiring All-Star forward Jimmy Butler in a blockbuster deal with the Miami Heat.
For most, the trade was a basketball story. But for Towns, Butler’s arrival in the Bay Area inevitably resurfaced an old, turbulent history.
Towns and Butler shared a well-documented, chaotic tenure as teammates under Thibodeau in Minnesota — a period marked by infamous practices, public tension, and, ultimately, Butler forcing his way out.
Yet, ahead of the Knicks’ Oct. 30 matchup against Miami — months before Butler was dealt to Golden State — Towns made it clear: the past was behind them.
He spoke about burying the hatchet, and in that game, the two even shared a laugh on the court.
Then Towns did more than talk — he torched Butler’s Heat for 44 points in a decisive victory.
Despite Towns’ dominant performance in their last meeting, Green had his own version of the truth.
On an episode of “The Draymond Green Show,” recorded after the Warriors’ win over the Knicks at the Garden, Green floated a baseless theory.
“That was a big game for us. And obviously, they ain’t have KAT. Some would say he didn’t play because Jimmy was in the building. I don’t know,” Towns said on March 6. “I saw KAT’s pops at the game yesterday. I got incredible love for the OG, his pops is an incredible man. But yeah, they say KAT didn’t play because Jimmy came into town. You know him and Jimmy had the infamous practice in Minnesota.
“I don’t know what was hurt. I didn’t look that deep into it to figure out what his injury was or nothing like that.”
The podcast dropped just after midnight on March 6 — meaning Green’s comments were made after Towns’ absence was already public knowledge but before the real reason surfaced.
TOWNS REJOINS KNICKS IN L.A., PAYS TRIBUTE TO LATE FRIEND (March 6)
Green’s comments immediately went viral, fueling online speculation about Towns’ absence. But within hours, the real reason came to light.
Both Woods and Towns took to Instagram to post heartfelt tributes to their close friend, Sarah Holtzman, who had tragically lost her battle with breast cancer.
Towns rejoined the Knicks in Los Angeles for the first stop of their five-game West Coast road trip, where he finally addressed his absence.
“They always question how your knees feel and all that, but they never question how you’re doing,” Towns told reporters. “So this is one of those moments where I had to be there for my family and be there for the kids that lost somebody really special to them.”
He kept his emotions in check but made it clear how much his team’s support meant to him.
“I don’t really want to talk about it. But I do appreciate the organization — my teammates giving me so much grace and support through the time when I really needed it,” he said. “I really appreciate that a lot, to allow me to go through what I got to go through.
“The job isn’t forgiving, but it’s what we signed up for.”
DRAYMOND ACKNOWLEDGES HIS MISTAKE (March 6)
Green and the Warriors were still in New York, wrapping up their East Coast swing with a matchup against the Nets. After Golden State eked out a narrow two-point victory at Barclays Center, a reporter informed Green of the real reason behind Towns’ absence.
His response? A mix of damage control and self-promotion.
“Oh, man, that’s unfortunate. I’m sorry to hear that. That sucks,” Green said. But rather than issue a direct apology, he quickly pivoted back to defending his own words.
“My comments that I made, was that ‘what I heard was this. And that’s what I heard.’ So I do send my well wishes to him and his family. We all experience death in one way or another, and we’ll all experience it the same way one day. So it’s unfortunate. You never wish that on anybody.”
Then, he undermined his own attempt at remorse — plugging his podcast not once, but twice.
“But the Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis must go on,” he added.
A breath later, he doubled down.
“I definitely wish them well and wish their family well. You know, we all go through that. And it’s never easy for anyone,” Green continued. “But The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis will go on.”
TOWNS RESPONDS TO DRAYMOND (March 9)
Towns chose to take the high road when asked about Green’s comments.
For him, this was bigger than basketball.
Towns lost his mother, Jacqueline Cruz, to COVID-19 in April 2020, just a month after the pandemic shut down the NBA. In a 2021 episode of “Peace of Mind with Taraji P. Henson,” he revealed that seven other relatives also died from the virus.
So when Holtzman — someone close to both Towns and Woods — lost her battle with breast cancer, he knew exactly where he needed to be: with her three young children, who had just lost their mother.
The circumstances made Green’s comments all the more distasteful. But rather than fire back, Towns responded with grace.
“I choose to approach that with love and not hate. That’s all I really care about,” he told reporters at Knicks practice in Sacramento on March 9. “I hope no one has to go through what I went through — and what those kids had to go through. Losing a parent is tough.”
HART SAYS DRAYMOND WAS WRONG (March 14)
After Knicks practice in San Francisco on Friday, Josh Hart stood up for his teammate, saying Draymond should have owned up to his mistake with a more genuine apology.
“I think KAT handled it the right way,” Hart told reporters. “For me, I have my own podcast and all that stuff. Whenever I’m wrong about something, I’ll sit there and say I was.
“For me, I wish he kind of did that — just apologized. You don’t have to be embarrassed, or feel like apologizing when you’re wrong isn’t manly. I wish he did.”
But with the rematch looming, Hart made it clear: “Now that’s in the past,” he said, “and we’re moving on.”
The Knicks and Warriors square off in a nationally televised showdown on ABC/ESPN at 8:30 p.m. ET on Saturday — a game that now carries even more weight given Green’s comments, Towns’ response, and Butler’s long history with the Knicks’ big man.
While both teams are fighting for playoff positioning, the weight of Green’s comments could make this clash about more than just basketball.
