The National Basketball Association (NBA) fined and suspended Golden State Warriors power forward Draymond Green for five games after putting Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert in a headlock during their game on Tuesday, November 14.

The incident occurred in the first two minutes after Warriors guard Klay Thompson and Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels got into a tangled exchange. As the two players argued, other players from both teams scrambled onto the court to get involved, just as Green came into contact with Gobert, wrapping his arms around his neck. As the event escalated, referees, coaches and players quickly pulled the two apart. 

As a result, three players were ejected from the game. Thompson, McDaniels and Gobert were each fined $25,000 for their behavior, while Green faced a full suspension and was fined $769,970, equivalent to his five-game salary.

In a report from CNN, the NBA stated that “the length of the suspension is based in part on Green’s history of unsportsmanlike acts.” 

After Tuesday, Green has five total suspensions in his professional career. He was last suspended in April 2023 in an altercation with Sacramento Kings player Domantas Sabonis. Before that, he was suspended in Game 5 of the 2016 NBA Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

“Draymond has to find a way not to cross the line,” Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr said in an interview with ESPN. “I’m not talking about getting an ejection, I’m talking about his physical acts of violence. He needs to be able to draw that distinction being a competitor.”

Since his suspension ended on Tuesday, November 28, Green missed five games in the league. The Warriors lost all of those games, and since Green’s return, they have only won one game. 

Ranking only 11th out of 15 teams in the Western Conference, Green says the team still has to figure out how to win, according to an interview with NBC. 

“Every year, groups (players on each team) are different,” Green said. “Each year, that particular group has to learn how to win. That’s definitely been tested a bit with the guys we have.”