For the second time this season, the NBA has come down hard on Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green. The league announced on Wednesday that the four-time champion has been suspended indefinitely for a blow to the face of Phoenix Suns big man Jusuf Nurkic during Tuesday night’s game.
Green was ejected from the game after receiving a Flagrant 2 foul. It represented his third ejection of the season. The future Hall of Famer had already been suspended five games earlier in the season after putting Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert in a chokehold.
For Green, this latest suspension is a prime example of the hot head acting far beyond the parameters of legal basketball to be a supposed enforcer for the Warriors. It’s also clear that the NBA is taking the most-recent incident seriously be handing him an indefinite suspension. Green will have to work through some things before he’s able to return to the Warriors. Details have not been released in that regard.
Shams Charania of The Athletic reports that Green will have to undergo counseling while working with both the Warriors and the NBA. He has to meet certain criteria before returning.
Nurkic spoke on the incident following Tuesday night’s game. His sentiment is one shared by many around the basketball world.
“What’s going on with him, I don’t know. Personally, I feel like that brother needs help. I’m glad he didn’t try to choke me,” Nurkic on Draymond Green.
For his part, Green claims that this most-recent incident was an accident. It’s hard to support that theory when watching it on tape.
Related: 2023-24 NBA Playoff and Finals predictions
Draymond Green suspended indefinitely by the NBA
Green is no stranger to violent on-court antics. While he has two such incidents this season, it’s been par for the course.
2023-24: Green was suspended five games back on Nov. 15 for putting the aforementioned Gobert in a chokehold during a game against the Timberwolves. In announcing that suspension, the NBA indicated that his history played a role. Hence, why Green received an indefinite ban.
2023 NBA Playoffs: Green was suspended for a game in the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs against the Sacramento Kings when he stomped on All-Star Domantas Sabonis’ chest in Game 2.
2022-23: Green was suspended a game for passing the technical foul threshold of 16 during a March game against the Los Angeles Clippers.
2022-23: Green was fined by the Warriors for punching then-teammate Jordan Poole during training camp practice. While he was not suspended, the big man did take a leave of absence. Ultimately, the Warriors were forced to trade Poole this past summer because he couldn’t coexist with Green.
- Draymond Green stats (2023-24): 9.7 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 5.8 APG, 49% shooting
2018-19: Green was suspended one game by the Warriors for an altercation with then-teammate Kevin Durant. Green and KD had an altercation on the bench late in a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. This is one of the primary reasons that Durant left Golden State for the Brooklyn Nets during the summer of 2019.
2016 NBA Finals: The most-famous of Draymond Green’s on-court antics came during Game 4 of the 2016 NBA Finals against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Green made contact with James’ groin area during a tangle up between the two. Green was called for Flagrant 1 foul after the fact and was ultimately suspended for Game 5 because he had already racked up three flagrants during the postseason that year. Up 3-1 in the series, Golden State would go on to blow it with the Cavs winning three consecutive.
At some point, Green’s on-court antics are going to be too much for the Warriors to look past. Sure, he has played a big role in their four NBA title runs. But he is now having a major impact on a team that boasts a 10-13 record and is clearly seeing its dynastic run come to an end.
For now, Draymond Green will be away from the Warriors indefinitely.