Every time Draymond Green has been suspended: Warriors star has been banned six times
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green was issued his fifth career suspension in November after he put Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert in a headlock.
Less than one month later and Green, the 33-year-old four-time All-Star and eight-time all-defensive selection, received his sixth suspension — this time an indefinite ban.
Green was ejected from the Warriors' game against the Phoenix Suns during the third quarter on Dec. 12 when he struck Suns center Jusuf Nurkic in the head with his hand. Green was battling for position with Nurkic when he spun suddenly and popped Nurkic on the side of the head with enough force to drop the 7-foot center. Green was assessed a Flagrant Foul 2, which results in an automatic ejection.
He was ejected again March 27 in a game against the Orlando Magic after picking up two technical fouls in the first five minutes. The first was for arguing with an official and the second was for continuing to jaw at the official while en route to the bench.
Here's a timeline of all of Green's suspensions.
December 2023: Indefinite suspension for striking Jusuf Nurkic
The NBA sidelined Green indefinitely "for striking Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkić in the face," league executive vice president/head of basketball operations Joe Dumars said.
"This outcome takes into account Green’s repeated history of unsportsmanlike acts," Dumars said. He added that Green "will be required to meet certain league and team conditions before he returns to play."
Draymond has been ejected after flagrant foul on Nurkić pic.twitter.com/RmrLU5tdw8
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 13, 2023
November 2023: Five games for Rudy Gobert headlock
This went down during the 12th game of Golden State's season and its second of the NBA's inaugural in-season tournament, an eventual 104-101 Timberwolves victory. After the game, Gobert called Green's actions "clown behavior."
The Warriors and Timberwolves got chippy just two minutes into their in-season tournament game 😳
Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and Jaden McDaniels were all ejected. pic.twitter.com/m7UvULewa2— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 15, 2023
"I thought the referees did a really good job of cleaning it up," Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said after the game. "I thought the ejections were the right ones; I thought they were warranted."
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after the game that he thought Thompson shouldn't have been ejected, citing McDaniels as the instigator, but offered context for Green's actions.
"The Draymond piece of it, if you watch the play, Rudy had his hands on Klay's neck and that's why Draymond went after Rudy," Kerr said. "I saw one replay right after it happened. ... That's all I know, but yeah, it was a bizarre way to start the game a minute-and-a-half in."
April 2023: One game for Domantas Sabonis stomp
This one happened Game 2 of a first-round postseason series against the Sacramento Kings, in an eventual 114-106 Warriors loss.
With 7:03 left in the fourth quarter and the Kings leading 91-87 in the game, Kings center Domantas Sabonis fell to the court following a missed shot. As Green tried to run back on offense, Sabonis grabbed Green’s right leg. Green attempted to shake off his foot and then stomped on Sabonis’ chest.
Referees issued Green a flagrant foul two, earning him an automatic ejection. Sabonis was given a technical foul.
Draymond Green stomps on Domantas Sabonis.
He was hit with a flagrant 2 foul and ejected. pic.twitter.com/gYWvNO9lHR— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 18, 2023
He was suspended one game without pay for the incident, missing Game 3 of the series. NBA executive vice president/head of basketball operations Joe Dumars said in a statement that the suspension "was based in part on Green’s history of unsportsmanlike acts." It was Green's second career postseason suspension
The Warriors would go on to battle back from a 2-0 deficit in the series to advance in seven games.
March 2023: One game for exceeding NBA technical foul limit
During a March 15 game against the Clippers, Green collected the ball after a made Los Angeles shot and felt that he had been pushed so he immediately tossed the ball at the player who had made contact, Clippers guard Russell Westbrook. The ball glanced off Westbrook's head and officials gave Green a technical foul.
Draymond Green throws the ball at Russell Westbrook’s head & receives his 16th tech of the season 😭 pic.twitter.com/LZRzZzVwrA
— ☘︎ (@CelticsRepublic) March 16, 2023
It was his 16th technical foul of the season, which exceeded the NBA's limit and triggered an automatic one-game suspension without pay.
He missed a March 17 game against the Atlanta Hawks, a 127-119 Warriors loss, which was their 10th consecutive road defeat at the time.
October 2022: No suspension, but fine for Jordan Poole punch
During training camp ahead of the 2022-23 season, Green and former teammate Jordan Poole had a heated altercation during a Golden State practice. Video later emerged that showed the two exchanging words, leading to Green confronting Poole, who was by the baseline behind a basket. As Green got in Poole's face, Poole shoved Green, who then punched Poole in the face, knocking him down. Coaches and staffers had to separate the two.
TMZ obtained the video of the altercation between Draymond Green and Jordan Poole at practice https://t.co/55rMnBqAVG pic.twitter.com/k02BGsBo8G
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) October 7, 2022
Green apologized to his teammates and stepped away for Golden State's first four preseason games. Coach Steve Kerr announced later that Green would be fined but not suspended. Kerr said that he, then-general manager Bob Myers and players met to discuss how to handle the situation.
Green returned for the team's final tune up, an October 14, 2022 exhibition against the Denver Nuggets and suited up for the Warriors' season opener.
November 2018: One game for bench confrontation with teammate Kevin Durant
This one is curious because the suspension came from the Warriors and it came because of Green's actions toward a teammate. During a November 12, 2018 game against the Los Angeles Clippers, Green had a heated verbal exchange with Kevin Durant during a stoppage late in the game.
The issue began in the final seconds of regulation with the score tied when Green collected a rebound and refused to pass the ball to Durant, who finished the game with a 30-point triple-double. Green ended up turning the ball over and the game went to overtime. The Warriors had ripped off an 11-0 run to close the fourth quarter and tie the game.
During the break between the fourth quarter and the start of overtime, Durant yelled at Green for not passing him the ball. The fiery Green didn’t appreciate the comments and had words for Durant. The frustrations carried over into the locker room after the game.
Another angle of KD and Draymond jawing at each other after regulation. pic.twitter.com/Lp7qazA7xt
— TheWarriorsTalk (@TheWarriorsTalk) November 13, 2018
The Warriors said in a release Green’s conduct was "detrimental to the team."
June 2016: One game for LeBron James groin shot
Arguably his most infamous suspension, this one came during Game 5 of the NBA Finals against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The incident occurred late in the fourth quarter of the Warriors' 108-97 victory during Game 4. In short: James and Green got tangled up near half court, Green fell to the floor, James tried to step-over Green as he was down, and Green responded by swinging in James' direction, making contact with James' groin area. A double foul was called at the time.
After the game, James said that he didn't expect the league to issue Green a suspension, but after further review, the league determined that Green's actions warranted a flagrant one.
Green had accumulated three flagrant foul points during the playoffs prior to Game 4, and a fourth flagrant point triggered an automatic suspension, per league rules.
The Warriors took a 3-1 series lead after Game 4 but then lost three games in a row to drop the series in seven games.
Contributing: Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Draymond Green suspension timeline recounts six NBA bans