The Milwaukee Bucks’ season ended on a sour note Thursday as the team lost its first-round series to the Indiana Pacers and guard Patrick Beverley twice threw a basketball at fans.
A video clip showed Beverley interacting with a group of fans with 2:32 left in the fourth quarter and his team down by 20 points.
He tossed a ball that struck a woman in the head and then appeared to call on those around her to return it to him.
A man who was next to the woman who was hit then said something to Beverley while the two had what looked like a cordial exchange.
The Indiana fan tossed the ball back over gently to Beverley, only to have it directed at him a second later.
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The Bucks guard launched the ball at the man with much greater force than he used during his first throw.
During “Inside the NBA” on TNT, host Ernie Johnson tried his best not to speculate on why Beverley did what he did or what might come from the incident.
But Charles Barkley wasted no time predicting Beverley was going to face some serious consequences.
Does Beverley deserve significant punishment for this incident?
“He hit that lady in the head. … He gone. He’s gonna get suspended,” the Hall of Famer said.
Kenny Smith commented that he thought Beverley had attempted to hit the man with both throws and that the woman might have been collateral damage.
“You can’t hit no lady. Ever,” Barkley replied.
“Listen, I’ve done stupid stuff and I got criticized,” he continued. “That’s just wrong. He’s gonna get suspended for that. And that’s gonna be a good one, too, ’cause he didn’t do it once. He did it twice.”
Charles Barkley with harsh words for Patrick Beverley.
“Listen, I’ve done stupid stuff and I got criticized. That’s just wrong. He’s gonna get suspended for that. And that’s gonna be a good one, too. ‘Cause he didn’t do it once. He did it twice.” pic.twitter.com/CgrR8bRIAz
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 3, 2024
Beverley later told a reporter she could not interview him because she wasn’t subscribed to his podcast:
Patrick Beverley: “You subscribed to my pod?”
Reporter: “I do not.”
Pat Bev: “You can’t interview me then. No disrespect.”
What an absolute clown show.
🤡🤡🤡 pic.twitter.com/PmNfKmlabr
— Savage (@SavageSports_) May 3, 2024
Beverley later addressed the throwing incident on social media — but he blamed the fan, whom he said he had asked for “help” in dealing with throughout Thursday night’s game.
“Not Fair at all,” he said in an X post responding to a clip of the incident. “Exchanged between a fan and our ball club all night. We warned and asked for help all night. Not fair.”
Not Fair at all. Exchanged between a fan and our ball club all night. We warned and asked for help all night. Not fair. 🙏🏾🙏🏾❤️ https://t.co/e2o0lcqZtg
— Patrick Beverley (@patbev21) May 3, 2024
Six hours later, Beverley apparently had come to terms with the gravity of what he had done.
“But I have to be better. And I will,” he posted.
But I have to be better. And I will 🙏🏾❤️
— Patrick Beverley (@patbev21) May 3, 2024
The Bucks guard is most certainly headed for a lengthy suspension — and if he’s not, he should be.
The NBA tolerated on-court incidents from the hot-headed former Arkansas Razorback for years when he first entered the league.
Beverley was suspended for a game in 2021 for shoving then-Phoenix Suns point guard Chris Paul in the Western Conference Finals that year, according to USA Today.
Patrick Beverley was ejected after shoving Chris Paul from behind. pic.twitter.com/z0GFL1tb6J
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 1, 2021
Last November, he was suspended for three games when he shoved Suns center Deandre Ayton, ESPN reported.
Patrick Beverley shoves Deandre Ayton after he was standing over Austin Reaves. pic.twitter.com/U7OUn4KPsM
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) November 23, 2022
The NBA had not yet commented on Thursday’s incident as of early Friday morning.
Milwaukee lost the game 120-98 as Indiana won the series 4-2.
