Suspension may be overkill, but when will Draymond learn his lesson?

Draymond Green's legacy as a member of the Golden State Warriors is rock-solid: four championships, four All-Star appearances, two All-NBA selections, seven All-Defensive team nods, and a Defensive Player of the Year award.

But with his time in The Bay potentially nearing an end in free agency this summer, Green's latest antics once again highlighted the curse attached to all the blessings of his stellar play.

For the second time in his postseason career, Green earned a one-game suspension - this time for stepping on the chest of Sacramento Kings center Domantas Sabonis in a Game 2 loss on Monday.

Considering that Green was already forced to miss key minutes down the stretch of a playoff game, this flagrant-2 penalty puts him two flagrant points away from an automatic one-game suspension, and the Warriors trail the first-round series 2-0, keeping Green out for Game 3 feels like overkill on the league's part.

Then again, Green should've known better than to commit an act that would ultimately leave his fate - and potentially his team's - in the NBA's hands. Seven years ago, the Warriors' defensive linchpin accumulated his fourth flagrant-foul point of the 2016 playoffs by making contact with LeBron James' groin during Game 4 of the NBA Finals. Green's Game 5 absence helped spur the Cleveland Cavaliers' championship rally from a 3-1 series deficit.

As the league noted in the press release announcing Green's latest suspension, his punishment was based in part on his history of unsportsmanlike acts. Green has accumulated six flagrant fouls and 27 technicals in 147 career playoff games. He's been ejected 17 times over the course of his 11-year career, with Monday night in Sacramento marking his second ejection in his last 19 playoff games.

Green was tossed from Game 1 of last year's second-round series against Memphis for pulling the Grizzlies' Brandon Clarke down by his jersey. He earned a one-game suspension in March for accumulating his 16th technical foul of the regular season. The Warriors suspended Green in 2018 for a heated confrontation with then-teammate Kevin Durant that played at least some part in Durant's eventual departure as a free agent. Green avoided suspension for punching teammate Jordan Poole in the face during a 2022 preseason practice. Add it all up and Green has been fined nearly $1.3 million, according to Spotrac.

"Repeat offender weighs as heavy as anything," NBA executive vice president and head of basketball operations Joe Dumars said of judging Green's latest transgression.

In Green's defense, Sabonis appeared to instigate the altercation by wrapping his arm around Green's ankle after falling to the floor, and Sabonis only received a technical for the infraction after officials reviewed the play. According to Green, it was the second time in the series an official witnessed his ankle being grabbed without blowing the whistle. "I guess ankle-grabbing is OK," Green said after Game 2. "I've got to land my foot somewhere, and I'm not the most flexible person, so it's not stretching that far. I can only step so far with him pulling my leg away."

Sabonis, who said he was only protecting himself while on the ground, was initially listed as questionable for Thursday's Game 3 with a sternum contusion, which Dumars admitted played a part in his decision to suspend Green. Kings head coach Mike Brown has since confirmed that Sabonis will play. Some people will say Sabonis got what he deserved; he messed around and found out, to paraphrase a common saying. But he isn't the first star to wager on Green's lack of restraint, and the Kings aren't the first team to benefit from it.

Green's passion and ferocity on the court can be inspiring and even entertaining when the stakes are highest. But when he crosses the line of acceptable behavior that he has spent his entire career tip-toeing around, it only hurts the Warriors.

Green is a proud veteran who doesn't need to be told how important he's been to Golden State's four title runs in the last eight years - yet he remains a reckless player whose volatility jeopardizes the Warriors' success. He's a basketball genius whose understanding of the game is two steps ahead of his competitors', yet he remains astonishingly oblivious to the potential consequences of his actions.

Green's absence comes at a time the Warriors need all hands on deck. Among 263 players this season to log at least 1,000 minutes, Green's on/off differential of plus-14.0 per 100 possessions ranked fourth, according to Cleaning The Glass. His game-changing defense, which has helped Golden State keep Sacramento at bay in the half court, will be especially missed by a Warriors team that hasn't been able to keep the Kings out of transition. Best-case scenario, perhaps leaning into bigger lineups with Green sidelined can help the Warriors on the defensive glass.

Had Sabonis been forced to miss Game 3 due to the injury he suffered as a result of Green's actions, the pendulum may have swung back toward Golden State. But that would've been a sorry trade-off in a series that has otherwise produced some breathtaking basketball.

Even if you believe Sabonis stoked the fire, he probably understood that Green can be baited into impulsive acts of self-destruction. Every Warriors opponent knows that. At some point, it's up to Green to start proving those rivals wrong. Sabonis' sternum will eventually heal, while Green's absence has put the Warriors' title defense on life support.

If this latest suspension proves to be Green's last defining act as a Warrior, it would be a shameful end to a sparkling yet turbulent tenure. He only has himself to blame. He's had plenty of opportunities to learn from his mistakes.

Joseph Casciaro is theScore's senior content producer.