Golden State Warriors Draymond Green was suspended indefinitely by the NBA on December 13. The move came less than 24 hours after Green hit Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic in the face in the third quarter of the game.

Draymond Jamal Green, 33, is a popular American basketball player. He plays in a power forward position. Draymond is a four-time NBA champion. He is considered one of the best defensive player in the league. Draymond was named NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2017. He also won two Olympic gold medals.

NBA Sports

According to the official webpage of the NBA, the National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league consisting of 30 teams across North America. The NBA was founded at the Commodore Hotel in New York. Initially, eleven teams were part of that league. NBA games are available on television channels in more than 200 countries around the world.

Indefinite suspensions are rare in the NBA. In 2010, then-commissioner David Stern suspended Washington guard Gilbert Arenas indefinitely for bringing a firearm into the team locker room.

Incident behind the Suspension

Green was hit with two fouls and ejected from the game. It was the 18th ejection of his career with the Warriors’ 119-116 loss to the Suns. Green and Nurkic were battling for position early in the third quarter of the game.

At that point, the Golden State forward lost his balance slightly but then inexplicably wheeled around and hit Nurkic in the face.

After the injury, Nurkic fell to the ground but stayed with the game. The referees reviewed the play before calling Green for a flagrant 2 foul, resulting in an automatic ejection.

For this, the four-time Olympic gold medalist apologized to Nurkic.

“He was pulling my hip, and I was moving away to sell the call,” Green explained, according to NBC Sports. “I contacted him. You know, I don’t apologize for what I wanted to do, but I apologize to Jusuf because I didn’t mean to hurt him,” Green said.

The NBA said that he must meet certain league and team conditions before returning to play.

Nurkic said he doesn’t know “what’s going on” with Green.

“Personally, I think that brother needs help. I’m glad he didn’t try to choke me… it has nothing to do with basketball. I’m trying to play basketball,” Nurkic said.

“We need Draymond. He knows that, and we have talked to him. He’s got to find a way to keep his poise and help his teammates,” said Warriors coach Steve Kerr.

“Draymond is still a really good player. We need him if we are going to be a really good team,”

The Warriors did not have a statement on Wednesday but said Green’s Suspension will be addressed at shootaround on Thursday in Los Angeles before a game against the Clippers.

The NBA noted that “this outcome takes into account Green’s repeated history of unsportsmanlike acts.”

Green’s Repeated History of ‘Unsportsmanlike acts’

Green was issued a five-game suspension by the NBA for putting Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert in a headlock during a brawl in November.

Last spring, Green was suspended for a Game 3 playoff win over the Sacramento Kings after stepping on Domantas Sabonis’ chest during a Game 2 loss.

Green was suspended by Golden State for one game in November 2018 for leading detrimentally to the team.

After creating too many fouls in the playoffs, Draymond was ejected for a game in the NBA Finals in 2016.

In October 2022, Green escaped suspension from the Warriors after punching teammate Jordan Poole during pre-season practice. Warriors coach Steve Kerr later described the incident as “the biggest crisis we’ve ever had,” but the team decided to levy a fine against Green instead of an internal suspension.

Fans are clamoring for the return of green

Many basketball fans have spoken out against the NBA’s decision.

One X user posted on his handle, This is so tired and so ridiculous. If the NBA really wants Draymond Green to knock off the nonsense, they have to suspend Steve kerr, punishing the only defender Draymond has left in the only way to get the message through to him.”

One user wrote, “I find this sad. Understandable but sad. Draymond is a unique player.”