NBA: Draymond Green Isn't 'The Baddest' Warrior Of All Time

Despite having a bad reputation in dealing with his own teammates and refs, Draymond Green isn’t the “the baddest” Warrior of all-time.

Green is known in the NBA for his fearsome persona. One of his most unforgettable moments in the league involved a feud with former Golden State Warriors superstar Kevin Durant. Green and Durant’s feud has once been the most-talked about subjects in the NBA. As expected, the infamous feud has added to Green’s menacing image.

However, very few people have really come to know Latrell Sprewell, an NBA legend who played six years with the Warriors. Just like Green, Sprewell was once viewed as a mean and dark presence in the Warriors team back in the mid 90’s.

In 1997, Sprewell committed one of the most outrageous acts in the history of American sports after he assaulted and threatened to kill his coach, P.J. Carlesimo, during a Dec. 1 practice.

The infamous incident started over Sprewell’s “lazy passing” during the said practice. According to former Warriors guard Bimbo Coles, he believed Sprewell got embarrassed when Carlesimo told him to throw his passes harder.

"He was telling him he wasn't throwing passes hard enough. It's embarrassing when a coach does that to you," Coles told ESPN in a documentary on Sprewell.

Carlesimo and Sprewell started jawing at each other, crossing the court until they were close enough to touch. All of a sudden, Sprewell reached out and choked Carlesimo with his bare hands and according to some reports, threatened to kill him, SF Gate reported.

"I wasn't choking P.J. that hard," Sprewell famously said on '60 Minutes.' "I mean, he could breathe," Sprewell explained.

After a few shocking seconds, players pulled Sprewell away from Carlesimo, and Sprewell was ejected from practice. According to the Warriors organization, “Spree” returned to commit a second assault on his coach by punching Carlesimo before being escorted out.

Buck Williams, who played for Carlesimo as a Portland Trail Blazer and who is a former president of the National Basketball Players Association believes that Sprewell’s act was inexcusable. However, he knew that nobody will ever side with the former Warrior regarding the matter, Sports Illustrated reported.

"They are angry that Sprewell has not had the chance to tell his side of the story. They're not taking Sprewell's side, because nobody in his right mind can really take his side. He was totally wrong."

For the most of his time with the Warriors, Sprewell has been an intensely inward and moody person who didn’t easily connect with others. In fact, he even got in a practice fight with Jerome Kersey in 1995 that eventually ended with him storming off the court and threatening to retrieve a gun from his car. Moments later, Sprewell returned to the facility with a two-by-four.