Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green has been banned for five games for putting Minnesota Timberwolves’ Rudy Gobert in a headlock.
Three players were ejected for fighting inside the first two minutes of Minnesota’s 104-101 win on Tuesday.
Green wrapped his arm around Gobert’s neck after Klay Thompson and Jaden McDaniels grabbed each others’ jerseys.
NBA vice-president Joe Dumars said Green was sanctioned without pay for “escalating an on-court altercation”.
Green, who will begin his suspension on Thursday when the Warriors host the Oklahoma City Thunder, was suspended for “forcibly grabbing” Gobert around the neck “in an unsportsmanlike and dangerous manner,” said Dumars.
Green was also ejected in the Warriors’ defeat by the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday and suspended during the play-offs in April after stamping on the Sacramento Kings’ Domantas Sabonis.
The NBA said his disciplinary record helped determine the length of the ban.