List of people banned or suspended by the NBA

Under Article 24 of the National Basketball Association (NBA) Constitution, the NBA commissioner has the power to hand down disciplinary actions (either suspensions or fines less than $60,000) on players for on-court incidents, conduct that does not conform to standards of fair play, conduct that does not comply with federal or state laws, and conduct that is detrimental to the game of basketball or the league. As defined by the 2005 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) and the NBA, any party (a player, a team, the NBA or the NBPA) can appeal to an arbitrator if a suspension is longer than 12 games or a fine is more than $50,000. If an appeal is filed, the arbitrator would have the power to either uphold or reject the decisions made by the commissioner. If the incident is serious enough, such as point shaving or substance abuse, players can be permanently banned from playing, although players banned for substance abuse are permitted to be reinstated two years later under the anti-drug agreement between the league and the NBPA.

In the league's early years, a handful of players were banned permanently because of their involvement with point shaving in college, although Connie Hawkins was able to overturn the ban through litigation. Several more were banned permanently for abusing banned substances and they usually never returned, though some players like Micheal Ray Richardson and Chris Andersen were able to return to play after their bans were repealed. Among those suspended, Metta Sandiford-Artest (formerly known as Ron Artest at the time and then Metta World Peace later in his career) and Latrell Sprewell faced the most serious punishments for on-court altercations; they were suspended for 86 and 68 games, respectively. Gilbert Arenas was also suspended for more than half of a regular season's games for bringing firearms into an arena and drawing them in a dispute with teammate Javaris Crittenton, who also got suspended for the rest of that season himself. In more recent years, under Adam Silver's tenure as commissioner, other people involved with NBA teams beyond just the players have faced serious punishments for their actions themselves. Most notably, former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling was permanently banned from the NBA for a leaked conversation condemning black people from coming to his games, primarily former Los Angeles Lakers player Magic Johnson. However, Golden State Warriors minority owner Mark Stevens, then-Phoenix Suns majority owner Robert Sarver, and then-Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka have also faced season-long suspensions for actions considered detrimental to the league. However, players are also eligible for long-term suspensions or permanent bannings in the event they do something egregious themselves under Silver's tenure, such as O. J. Mayo for substance abuse or Jontay Porter for gambling purposes.

Permanently banned and never reinstated
Only three individuals who were not players were permanently banned or have been permanently banned from the NBA directly. One person was a referee that had fixed NBA games during the early days of the league's existence at the time. Another individual was a college student who was mistaken for a student-athlete at the time that was also involved with a major college scandal as a game fixer. Finally, the last individual was a team owner who was banned for egregious behavior revealed to the public behind the scenes. The rest of the names involved were players who were banned either during their NBA careers or before they ever had a chance to start their professional basketball careers.

Permanently banned via the CCNY point-shaving scandal
The first major instance of permanent bans being used throughout the NBA revolved around the case of the CCNY point-shaving scandal that primarily happened in 1951. As a result of this incident, 36 different collegiate players (including a few that were either already in the NBA or were drafted into the NBA by this time) and one NBA referee were reported to have been involved with this case at the time were permanently banned from the league due to said involvement (either confirmed or alleged) in this scandal, with one specific player only being caught years after the initial scandal died down.

Permanently banned via the 1961 NCAA gambling scandal
By 1961, thanks in part to former player Jack Molinas, a greater scandal within the NCAA would lead to even more individuals from a mostly collegiate background (with some involving younger individuals at the time whose main crime in the event was just mainly meeting up with Molinas or one of his associates at the time) getting permanently banned from the NBA, including some players that would later get drafted into the NBA and a future Basketball Hall of Famer. One college football player that was involved in this scandal named William "Bill" Minnerly from the University of Connecticut was also expelled from college and barred from entering the NFL as well following the revelations of this scandal.

Permanently banned after the major NCAA scandals
While the NBA has resorted to less permanent bannings following the two major NCAA scandals of 1951 and 1961, the league has resorted to using them even to this present day, primarily with the use of hard drugs entering the 1980s decade. While some players that might have been permanently banned during that time were able to get out via appeal or even waiting until a later date, others were still stuck on the permanent ban list even after being freed from it.

Permanently banned but later reinstated
Most cases where a player has been banned from the NBA but later reinstated are a result of the league's anti-drug policy, which was started back in 1983 after a rise in drugs like cocaine and methamphetamine had occurred. The policy, developed jointly between the NBA and the players' association, made a third illegal drug use offense punishable by a ban, although a player could apply for reinstatement after a minimum of two years (or in the case of Jalen Harris, only one year).

Suspended
Only suspensions lasting six games or more from individuals involved with NBA teams are included.