The NBA announced Wednesday Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green will be suspended for five games after "forcibly grabbing" Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert around the neck on-court during Tuesday night's televised game.
The association called the chokehold "dangerous." NBA Executive Vice President and Head of Basketball Operations, Joe Dumars, made the announcement and said the punishment was decided, in part, based on Green's "history of unsportsmanlike acts."
In a Bleacher Report analysis of the incident, viewers said they witnessed Warriors wing Klay Thompson and Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels become "tied up," around two minutes into the game on Tuesday night. The NBA agreed and described them as "entangled" saying the players were "grabbing and pulling at one another's jerseys."
The NBA said Gobert "entered the situation," signaling that it believed he could have avoided the altercation.
That led to what appeared to be a tense and tangled scrum where shirts were being pulled and players were being pulled off each other; then Green put Gobert in a chokehold, or a forced his hands around his neck, as the NBA said.
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Players, including Green, were ejected from the game. Green was assessed a flagrant foul 2, while Thompson and McDaniels were handed a technical foul.
Gobert later said of the momenthands were placed around his neck, "It was a long time, and if he knew how to choke it could have been way worse. His intention was to take me out."
The NBA said Warriors guard Klay Thompson and Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels, along with center Rudy Gobert, were each fined $25,000 for their part in the melee.
The NBA said Green will start to serve his five-game suspension on Thursday when the Warriors host a match against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
