Christmas Day 2022: Thompson Taunt and Technicals

On December 25, 2022, during a regular-season meeting between the Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies at the Warriors' venue, the teams combined for seven technical fouls as officials assessed multiple confrontational and taunting moments [5]. The Warriors won the game 123–109, but postgame and game coverage focused on the physical and verbal exchanges that punctuated the contest. One specific moment called out in coverage was a technical foul on Klay Thompson for standing over Dillon Brooks after a play; Thompson described his action as "Just some good ol’ fashioned trash talk." [5]. Reporters characterized the contest as "chippy" with trash talk, physical play and passionate moments involving both rosters, and noted that several Warriors players were involved in active on-court responses to Grizzlies provocation [5]. The December matchup occurred after the May 3, 2022 playoff incident involving Dillon Brooks and Gary Payton II, and media framed the Christmas game as continuing evidence that the teams' meetings were charged beyond standard rivalry play [1][5].

The Dec. 25, 2022 game matters because it showed that the friction from the May 3, 2022 playoff incident had carried into regular-season play: officials assessed seven technicals and coverage highlighted taunting and physicality involving high-profile players, indicating the earlier flashpoint remained salient in subsequent matchups [1][5]. The technical on Klay Thompson and his explicit description of the exchange as "trash talk" signaled that the teams treated these meetings as emotionally heightened encounters rather than routine games [5].

Following the Christmas Day game, outlets continued to reference the December matchup when recounting the Warriors–Grizzlies narrative, and the chippy nature of the contest helped set context for media discussions in early 2023 when Dillon Brooks and Draymond Green exchanged public comments [5][3][4]. The game did not produce league discipline tied specifically to the taunting beyond the recorded technical fouls, but it reinforced that future meetings between the franchises would have extra edge tied to prior incidents [5].