Reports: Tristan Thompson punched Draymond Green at LeBron James' ESPYs afterparty
There have been rumors for almost two weeks that there was a fight at an L.A. nightclub between NBA players.
On Tuesday, multiple reports broke that the altercation involved Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green and Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson in a beef that carried over from Game 4 of the NBA Finals when Green offered to meet Thompson “in the streets.”
Report: LeBron James, Kevin Durant broke up fight
Hip-hop blog Bossip had the initial story Tuesday, reporting that Green and Thompson got into a fight at an ESPYs afterparty that was quickly broken up by LeBron James and Kevin Durant.
The Big Lead’s Jason McIntyre, who initially reported the vague rumor without naming names, opened up with his version of the story after the Bossip report.
Draymond Green was not the aggressor, he was trying to make peace. Tristan felt embarrassed by the end of the Finals diss moment and just unloaded. Couple players i spoke here in LA/on social media went with, "about time"
— Jason McIntyre (@jasonrmcintyre) July 31, 2018
Thompson reportedly attacked Green “out of nowhere”
Late Tuesday, The Athletic’s Marcus Thompson II reported what he had heard about a “scuffle” between Green and Thompson at James’ ESPYs afterparty.
From Thompson’s report:
“Both Green and Thompson were guests of LeBron for this ultra-exclusive affair—which prohibited phones and cameras. None of the attendees expected the on-the-court drama to flare back up in this setting.
Which is why everyone was stunned when Thompson, according to sources, out of nowhere attacked Green.
No argument. No squaring up. No taking it outside.
‘It was a sucker punch,’ said one source who attended the party. ‘But, to be honest, it wasn’t really a punch. It was more like a shove.’
It was a face mush, another source described it. Other reports have described it as a legit punch, maybe even a quick one-two.”
Like Bossip, Thompson reported that Durant and James intervened and that Green and Thompson continued with the party where “all involved ended up having a good time.”
How are we just hearing about this?
So it appears that we have the puzzle pieces of an almost complete picture from the rumored altercation.
What isn’t clear is how a story of this magnitude has managed to stay under wraps for two weeks in a city with some of the world’s most persistent gossip reporters. Sure, cell phones weren’t permitted, but it’s still a bit of a shocker to just be hearing these details now.
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