Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green has come to Giannis Antetokounmpo’s defense, taking aim at Doc Rivers and Doug Christie over their public criticism of the Miami Heat superstar.

Rivers, who coached Antetokounmpo for two and a half seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks, questioned his basketball IQ, while Christie, the Sacramento Kings’ coach, suggested his strong midrange shooting performance on Sunday was an anomaly.

Green backed Antetokounmpo as an all-time NBA great and warned that coaches who publicly malign players could soon face the same treatment.

Draymond Green Cautions NBA Coaches After ‘Crazy’ Giannis Antetokounmpo Disrespect

Discussing Antetokounmpo’s game on “The Bill Simmons Podcast” last week, Rivers said the two-time MVP “really has one way: Downhill, force” and that he “doesn’t necessarily have this super IQ.”

Asked about the remarks on Sunday, Antetokounmpo responded, “That’s insane, but you gotta go ask him why he said what he said. Not me.”

Andscape’s Marc J. Spears reported Monday that the ex-Bucks coach regretted the IQ line and intended no disrespect toward the 10-time All-Star.

A day later, Green zeroed in on Rivers’ choice of words on “The Draymond Green Show.”

“I don’t think Doc was just trying to shoot at Giannis, but I will also say, it definitely came off that way. … When you say he’s not super high IQ and things like that, that comes off as personal. It just does,” Green said.

Christie offered his own critique after the Heat’s 114-108 win at Golden 1 Center on Sunday. Antetokounmpo poured in 29 points on 14-for-23 shooting (60.9%) and grabbed 14 rebounds that night.

In his postgame press conference, the Kings coach still slighted “The Greek Freak,” saying, “Even the shot profile was Giannis shooting a midrange, contested shot. We’re living with that. Tonight, he knocked them down. I’ll watch him next game, and he probably won’t.”

Christie’s comments pushed Green further:

“Once Doc did that, then Doug Christie took it upon himself to shoot at Giannis the next night after playing him. … Talking about a top 20, top 30 [player] — whatever you wanna say Giannis is on the all-time rankings — that is crazy to me. I say if coaches gonna get to the point to where coaches start talking crazy, players should start talking crazy about coaches too.”

The four-time NBA champion tied the idea to a “barrier” around how coaches typically speak about players in public. He then mapped out what dropping it could sound like from the other side:

“If that barrier is not going to be upheld … why wouldn’t players go in interviews now and be like, ‘Yo Doug Christie sucked last night.’ … What if players start doing that and just shoot at coaches? So I’d say be very careful with all the Giannis dialogue.”

Green also called for more support from Antetokounmpo’s current coach, Miami’s Erik Spoelstra:

“Would love to see Coach Spo come out and say something great about Giannis. Support your guy. You know what I’m saying? I’d love to see that.”

With Tuesday’s 115-109 road win over the shorthanded Utah Jazz, Antetokounmpo and Co. improved to 5-6 as they continue to recover from their shaky 2-5 start. Still, the 31-year-old’s playing style could remain a point of contention for his critics throughout the season, especially if the Heat endure another rough patch.