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 Nurkić in the face and was assessed a Flagrant 2 foul and ejection.
The league announced the punishment imposed by chief operating officer Joe Dumars and said the suspension will take effect immediately. It is already Green's second suspension this season.
“He will be required to meet certain league and team requirements before returning 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, mostly among active NBA players.
Green and Nurkić were battling for position early in the third when the two tangled. The Golden State forward appeared to lose his balance slightly, but then inexplicably turned around and punched Nurkić in the face.
Nurkić immediately fell to the ground, but eventually got up and stayed in the match. The officials reviewed the play before calling Green for a Flagrant 2 foul, who was automatically ejected.
“That had nothing to do with basketball,” Nurkić said. “I'm just trying to play basketball.”
It's been less than a month since Green was suspended five games by the NBA for tying up Minnesota's Rudy Gobert 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's locker room. That foreshadowed what would become a 50-game suspension for Arenas, after Stern said, “His continued conduct … led me to conclude that he is currently unfit to take the court in an NBA game.”