Last week, Patrick Beverley was handed a suspension by the league for four games without pay starting next campaign, due to his antics during the final game of Milwaukee‘s Eastern Conference first-round elimination at the hands of Indiana. The veteran was caught twice on camera throwing a ball at the crowd.
The NBA announced the punishment last Thursday by stating that the Bucks guard was being suspended for “forcefully throwing a basketball multiple times at spectators and an inappropriate interaction with a reporter during media availability.”
The incident even made its way to the Indianapolis police, who said they had been investigating an “NBA player and citizen” situation, which had occurred during that game on May 2, even though they never mentioned anyone by name.
Patrick Beverley has been suspended four games without pay for forcefully throwing a basketball multiple times at spectators and an inappropriate interaction with a reporter during media availability, the league announced. pic.twitter.com/oWFfmBohvg
— ESPN (@espn) May 9, 2024
The altercation caught fire when Beverley was seen throwing a ball at fans during the closing minutes of Milwaukee’s 120-98 defeat in Game 6, which resulted in their last match of the season. Cameras showed him tossing the ball into the stands and even hitting a fan in the head with at least two more minutes to the buzzer.
A different fan threw another ball back at him, as the veteran decided to shoot it once again at that spectator. Patrick spoke about his behaviour in last week’s episode of his own podcast, revealing his actions were “still inexcusable,” despite being insulted.
“I will be better,” he said last Wednesday. “I have to be better, and I will be better. That should have never happened. Regardless of what was said, that should have never happened. Simple as that.”
Beverley then shined a light on the atmosphere in Indiana’s arena, saying that “a handful of fans” crossed the line. “I ain’t bringing a basketball on the bench no more,” he expressed in his podcast. “That … threw my whole vibe off.”
A day after the contest, his coach Doc Rivers called his behaviour “not the Milwaukee way or the Bucks way.” He said: “We’re better than that. Pat feels awful about that. He also understands emotionally — this is an emotional game and things happen — unfortunately, you’re judged immediately and he let the emotions get the better of him.”
Draymond Green advised Beverley to abstain from these behaviours, as these kinds of actions are “forbidden for us”
One of the players who has mostly been incriminated for his on-court actions is Draymond Green, as the Warriors forward knows a thing or two about being suspended. In the most recent episode of his podcast, the four-time champion talked about the incident in which the Bucks guard threw a ball into the crowd behind his team’s bench.
“That was interesting, because Pat keeps having these instances after they lose in these playoff games,” he said, explaining the importance of not messing with the audience. “It opens up an entirely different can of worms.”
The Golden State star could almost anticipate the problem this incident could bring to the league officials. “[NBA commissioner Adam Silver] is going to have a problem on his hands with this one, because it’s about as close as you can get to going in the stands, and that is forbidden for us,” Green said.
“I ain’t never heard somebody say if you ain’t subscribed to my podcast, don’t ask me a question,” Draymond said as a joke, trying to explain how players should get used to being criticized.
