Bucks' Pat Beverley Suspended 4 Games for Throwing Ball at Fans, Reporter Exchange
Patrick Beverley's season ended when the Milwaukee Bucks lost in the first round of the 2024 NBA playoffs to the Indiana Pacers, but he will be sidelined for the first four games of the 2024-25 season without pay due to his actions during and after Game 6 of that series.
The NBA announced Thursday that Beverley was suspended for "forcefully throwing a basketball multiple times at spectators and an inappropriate interaction with a reporter during media availability."
He threw the ball at the fans during Milwaukee's Game 6 loss to the Pacers and then refused to allow ESPN's Malinda Adams to participate in his postgame media session because she did not subscribe to his podcast.
Beverley's interaction with Adams drew plenty of criticism:
"Patrick Beverley's behavior towards ESPN producer Malinda Adams was unacceptable, unprofessional and failed to meet the standard that NBA players consistently meet in their interactions with the media," NBA spokesperson Tim Frank said.
As for the incident with the fans, some were exchanging words with him near the end of what was turning into a clear Indiana victory. He tossed a ball at one of them, who tossed it right back. However, the guard then threw the ball back with much more force the second time.
For his part, Beverley said the situation was "not fair" before acknowledging he has "to be better."
However, he offered a more sincere apology on his podcast in the aftermath.
"Unfortunate situation that should've never happened," Beverley said. "What I did was bad, and that should have never happened. I have to be better and I will be better. That should have never happened, regardless of what was said, simple as that."
Milwaukee traded for Beverley in February, and he played a larger role in the playoffs than perhaps once expected with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard dealing with injuries. He ended up playing 35 minutes per game against the Pacers after playing only 20.9 minutes per night in 26 regular-season games for the Bucks.
The veteran is slated to become a free agent this offseason, so whichever team signs him will do so knowing he will be suspended for the first four games of next season.
