The NBA suspended Milwaukee Bucks guard Patrick Beverley on Thursday for four games without pay at the start of the next season. This was due to his actions during and after the last game of the Eastern Conference first-round playoff series against the Indiana Pacers.
The league stated that Beverley was disciplined for “forcefully throwing a basketball multiple times at spectators and an inappropriate interaction with a reporter during media availability.”
This suspension came a day after the Indianapolis police announced they were investigating an altercation involving an “NBA player and citizen” during the May 2 game, although they didn’t mention anyone by name.
In the closing moments of Milwaukee’s 120-98 Game 6 loss in Indiana, Beverley threw a ball at fans, which resulted in the Bucks being eliminated from the playoffs.
Cameras captured him sitting on the bench and tossing a ball into the stands, hitting a fan in the head with about 2 ½ minutes remaining. After a different fan threw the ball back to Beverley, he fired it back at that person.
Beverley addressed his actions on an episode of “The Pat Bev Podcast” released on Wednesday. He mentioned being called a word he’d never been called before but admitted his actions were “still inexcusable.”
“I will be better,” he stated. “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 also commented that the atmosphere in Indiana was mostly positive except for “a handful of fans” who crossed the line. “I ain’t bringing a basketball on the bench no more,” Beverley remarked. “That … threw my whole vibe off.”
