The NBA has handed Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green a five-game suspension for his involvement in Tuesday's altercation with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The league announced the ban Wednesday, penalising Green for "escalating an on-court altercation and forcibly grabbing Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert around the neck in an unsportsmanlike and dangerous manner."
Gobert, his Timberwolves teammate Jaden McDaniels and Warriors guard Klay Thompson were all fined $25,000 for their roles in the incident.
Green was given the harshest punishment and will lose $769,704 in game salary because of his prior track record.
"The length of the suspension is based in part on Green’s history of unsportsmanlike acts," the statement read.
The incident occurred in the opening minutes of the Timberwolves' 104-101 win, when Thompson and McDaniels "became entangled and were grabbing and pulling at one another’s jerseys."
Gobert rushed in and grabbed Thompson and Green promptly entered the fracas to defend his teammate, pulling Gobert away from behind with his arm around his neck.
Thompson’s jersey was ripped during the scuffle, which led to Green’s second ejection of the season and two free throws by Gobert.
Thompson and McDaniels were each assessed a technical foul and ejected, while Green was assessed a Flagrant Foul 2 and ejected.
Green will begin serving his suspension Thursday, when the 6-6 Warriors host the Oklahoma City Thunder, and he'll be eligible to return November 28 against the Sacramento Kings.