Draymond Green believes Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs were sore losers after Game 5

The San Antonio Spurs' run to the 2026 NBA Finals was quite impressive, especially since they are such a young team. Unfortunately for them, they lost to the New York Knicks in five games, but it seems they did not take it well.

Four-time champion Draymond Green believes that the Spurs were wrong by not shaking hands with the Knicks after Game 5. They immediately went back to the locker room, which included Spur-turned-Knick Jeremy Sochan trying to chase them to shake hands.

Draymond Green believes the Spurs were sore losers after the 2026 Finals

As a player who appeared in the NBA Finals six times with the Golden State Warriors, Green knows what it's like to be a winner and a loser. He believes that when losing, a team has to be humble enough to congratulate the winning side.

That was not what happened with the Spurs and the Knicks, as the former went back to the locker room immediately. This has sparked discourse around the league, including Green, who was not a big fan of what happened.

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Green pointed out that this was not only a bad look for the Spurs, but it is not a healthy approach moving forward. This has led to discourse around social media about it, but Green's comments are the ones that might ring true.

"The reason it was disappointing, when you go 'Mano a mano, toe to toe, blow for blow with a team, and they get the better of you. Those who become champions look them in their eyes and say, 'Respect, congratulations. Well deserved.' And then you go to the locker room. That’s what those who become champions do," Draymond said on his podcast about the Spurs.

"Look your killer in the face. You've got to look them in the face. By the way, if you leave the court and I just beat you, I actually know that I own you forever because you couldn’t even look me in the face."

Green brings up a valid point because it does make the Spurs look like sore losers. However, it is also a natural human reaction, so it is hard to fault them for their reactions. 

In their interviews after the loss, it seems the Spurs were quite complimentary to the Knicks, so no harm was done. However, the optics do not look good after not shaking hands, but this is a young team that will learn as they progress.

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