The Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets clashed in the playoffs, resulting in animosity between Alperen Sengun and Draymond Green.

Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28) controls the ball against Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) during the second quarter of game four of the 2025 NBA Playoffs first round at Chase Center.
The Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets gave NBA fans arguably the best series of the postseason last year. In the end, Stephen Curry led Golden State to a win in Game 7 on the road. Earlier this offseason, All-Star center Alperen Sengun took a shot against the Warriors, saying that Golden State’s players complained for calls. Green took exception to the young star’s words.

The first-round series between the two Western Conference rivals was extremely physical. Technical fouls became a common occurrence, especially against Rockets guard Dillon Brooks. Warriors forward Jimmy Butler even missed a game thanks to a back injury after a rough fall. According to Sengun, though, Golden State fouled too much and complained when they didn’t get calls.

“They’re a very experienced team, and they fouled a lot. In the playoffs, they don’t call it. But they were the ones crying all series about fouls not being called,” Sengun said.”

Green reacted to what the Rockets center said, hinting that he doesn’t have the cache to complain about officiating. The former NBA champion said as much when he replied to Sengun’s comments on social media.

That’s a tough thing to say after you lose,” Green said. “You have to win to (say) stuff like that.”

Both the Warriors and Rockets figure to have a say in the Western Conference again this season. Houston added Kevin Durant to the team in the offseason’s biggest trade. The deal saw the No. 2 seed add one of the league’s best offensive players to a defensive juggernaut. Experts believe that the Rockets are the biggest challengers to the Oklahoma City Thunder next season.

On the other hand, Golden State’s offseason has been full of drama. The Warriors and restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga remain at odds. The indecision has prevented the team from making any other major upgrades. Now, Green has taken another shot that will inevitably put an even bigger target his and Curry’s back when they play the Rockets in the 2025-26 season.