NBA player hit with huge ban for threatening pregnant lady

Minnesota guard Malik Beasley has been whacked with a hefty ban after the Timberwolves star pleading guilty to threatening a family - included a pregnant mother - with a gun.

Beasley has been suspended for 12 matches after pleading guilty to threats of violence and pointing a rifle at the pregnant woman, her husband and their teenage daughter in an SUV outside his home in October.

KING'S FURY: LeBron James rages over NBA All-Star 'disrespect'

FANTASY MAILBAG: Kevin Love's return and Kelly Oubre's improvement

Beasley was ordered to serve 120 days in a workhouse or home monitoring, and will serve that sentence at the conclusion of the NBA season.

But now he will miss games over the next month, starting with Saturday's game against Washington.

Assuming there are no COVID-19-related postponements, Beasley will be eligible to return on March 27. He will be allowed to practise with the team, an NBA source confirmed.

"As an organisation, we fully support today's decision by the NBA," Wolves President Gersson Rosas said in a team release. "As we work together with Malik to advance his development as a player and a person, we look forward to seeing his growth."

Beasley is in the midst of his best season on the court and is averaging 20.5 points while shooting 41 per cent from 3-point range.

Even after his latest indiscretion, the Timberwolves re-signed Beasley, who was a restricted free agent, to a four-year contract worth up to $60 million ($A76 million).

Beasley was arrested in October after he threatened the family with an assault rifle after their car came to a stop in front of his house during a parade of homes tour.

The player was accused of telling the family to "get the f*** off" his property. Once they drove away, multiple 911 calls led to a visit from local police, who allegedly found the rifle as well as nearly two pounds (900g) of marijuana.

Police also reportedly seized surveillance footage of the incident. Beasley and his wife, Montana Yao, were both arrested and charged, Beasley with fifth-degree drug possession and felony threats of violence and Yao with fifth-degree drug possession.

Malik Beasley's offseason incidents

The incident was just one part of an eventful offseason for Beasley, who had been arrested but not charged a month earlier over allegations of marijuana possession and receiving and concealing stolen weapons.

Yao, who has a child with Beasley, also filed for divorce that December, and later claimed he had cheated on her with Larsa Pippen, ex-wife of NBA Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen, and kicked her out. Pippen has claimed she only met Beasley after he and Yao had separated.

Beasley eventually pleaded guilty to the threats of violence charge and was sentenced to 120 days in a corrections facility once the season is over. Now, Beasley is also being penalised by the league with a suspension that should keep him out until March 26.

Meanwhile, Beasley re-signed with Minnesota on a four-year, $60 million deal. He is currently averaging 20.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game for the struggling Timberwolves, who have won just seven games out of 26 and prop up the NBA's Western Conference.

with agencies

Click here to sign up to our newsletter for all the latest and breaking stories from Australia and around the world.