Los Angeles Lakers guard Patrick Beverley has been suspended for three games for “violently shoving” Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton when the big man wasn’t looking and picked him up in Tuesday’s LA game against the Suns dropped the spot, the NBA announced Thursday.
The league’s statement, attributed to executive vice president and head of basketball operations Joe Dumars, explained the suspension as “based in part on Beverley’s history of unsportsmanlike conduct.”
The suspension is unpaid and will cost Beverley $268,965 in salary, according to ESPN front-office insider Bobby Marks.
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Beverley will miss the Lakers’ back-to-back road games against the San Antonio Spurs on Friday and Saturday, as well as Monday’s home game against the Indiana Pacers.
Beverley was assessed a technical foul and ejected for charging into Ayton after Ayton stood over Lakers swingman Austin Reaves while Reaves was down after a flagrant foul by Suns guard Devin Booker. The sequence occurred at 3:55 in the fourth quarter of the Lakers’ 115-105 loss in Phoenix.
After the game, Beverley said he was “certainly” concerned the league would discipline him for his actions, adding that he would accept the penalty imposed.
“Very unprofessional for me. Could have definitely reacted differently,” he said. “Well, yeah, I’m a big boy. I’ll take my nuggets however they come.”
But shortly before the suspension, Beverly was announced on Thanksgiving afternoon tweeted with a different tone.
Before Tuesday’s incident, in the 2021 Western Conference Finals and with the Suns poised to beat the LA Clippers for a trip to the championship round, Beverley – then with the Clips – shoved Suns guard Chris Paul in the back.
Beverley averages 4.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 14 starts for the Lakers. He shoots career lows from the field (26.6%) and the 3-point line (23.8%).