By Janie McCauley
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green was suspended indefinitely by the NBA on Wednesday, less than 24 hours after he hit Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic in the face and received a Flagrant 2 foul and ejection.
The league announced the penalty handed down by operations chief Joe Dumars and said the suspension begins immediately. It’s already Green’s second suspension this season.
“He will be required to meet certain league and team conditions before he returns to play,” the league said.
The NBA noted that “this outcome takes into account Green’s repeated history of unsportsmanlike acts.”
Green was ejected for the 18th time in his career, most among active NBA players.
Green and Nurkic were battling for position early in the third when the two got tangled. The Golden State forward appeared to slightly lose his balance, but then inexplicably wheeled around and smacked Nurkic in the face.
Nurkic immediately crumpled to the ground but eventually got up and stayed in the game. The referees reviewed the play before calling Green for a Flagrant 2 foul, which causes an automatic ejection.
“That had nothing to do with basketball,” Nurkic said. “I’m just out there trying to play basketball.”
It’s been less than a month since Green was suspended five games by the NBA for putting Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert into a headlock during an altercation in November.
There is little precedent for an indefinite suspension. In 2010, then-Commissioner David Stern suspended Washington guard Gilbert Arenas indefinitely for bringing firearms into the team locker room. That was a precursor to what became a 50-game suspension for Arenas, after Stern said “his ongoing conduct … led me to conclude that he is not currently fit to take the court in an NBA game.”
