Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green has been suspended for five games, the NBA announced on Wednesday, for “escalating an on-court altercation and forcefully grabbing Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert around the neck in an unsportsmanlike and dangerous manner.”
“Forcefully grabbing” Gobert around the neck is a polite way of describing a full-on WWE chokehold. Green ran into an altercation that began between Klay Thompson and Jaden McDaniels and proceeded to drag Gobert — who was only trying to break things up — away in a headlock.
A closer look:
Thompson, McDaniels and Gobert will be fined $25,000 each for their role in the altercation but will not be suspended, and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports that “the length of [Green’s] suspension is based in part on Green’s history of unsportsmanlike acts.”
This is not a good time for Green to be out. The Warriors, who are already without Stephen Curry at the moment, have lost five of their last six games to fall to 6-6 after a 5-2 start.
Green, who has been ejected from 17 games during his career, the most among active players, will miss two games against Oklahoma City, beginning Thursday night, and one each against the Rockets, Suns and Spurs.
KVSP