SAN FRANCISCO — Draymond Green will be suspended five games for putting Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert in a headlock during Tuesday’s game, the league announced. This is Green’s fifth career suspension.
Green will miss the Warriors’ next two games against the Oklahoma City Thunder, then games against the Houston Rockets, Phoenix Suns and San Antonio Spurs. He should return for an in-season tournament game against the Sacramento Kings on Nov. 28.
The NBA’s punishment is in line with what the league established as something of a repeat-offender rule for Green during the playoffs last season after his entanglement with Sacramento Kings center Domantas Sabonis that led to a one-game suspension. Green’s punishment is harsher because of his history with the league.
“The length of the suspension is based in part on Green’s history of unsportsmanlike acts,” NBA executive vice president Joe Dumars said in the league statement announcing the suspension.
Klay Thompson, Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert were each fined $25,000 for their involvement in the skirmish.
Green was ejected two minutes into Tuesday’s game along with Klay Thompson and Timberwolves’ forward Jaden McDaniels, who got into an altercation after a handsy box-out and McDaniels ripped Thompson’s jersey. Both teams, coaches and security got involved to separate the two, and Green caught Rudy Gobert pulling Thompson away from the scuffle by the neck and grabbed Gobert in a headlock to pull him away.
In a pool report, game officials said Gobert was acting as a “peacemaker,” which absolved him of a foul called against him in real time.
“It’s kind of funny because before the game, I was telling myself that Steph is not playing, so I know Draymond is going to try and get ejected,” Gobert told reporters after the game. “Because every time Steph doesn’t play, he doesn’t want to play — it’s his guy Steph. He’ll do anything he can to get ejected.”
Steve Kerr defended Green and Thompson.
“There is no way Klay should have been ejected,” he said. “That’s ridiculous … as far as the Draymond part, Rudy had his hands on Klay’s neck. That’s why Draymond went after Rudy.”