Mitch McGary suspended five games for violating anti-drug program

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Mitch McGary has been suspended for five games without pay for violating the terms of the NBA/NBPA Anti-Drug Program, the NBA announced Friday. His suspension will begin at the start of the 2016-17 season, assuming he's eligible and physically able to play.

Per league rules, the specifics of the violation were not released.

In wake of the suspension, McGary, 24, issued the following statement:

"I clearly made a mistake, and for that, I apologize to the organization, my teammates, and our fans. I realize there are only so many opportunities given to you and I need to make sure that, as a person and as a player, I take accountability and ensure that this does not happen again."

McGary, the No. 21 overall draft pick in the 2014 draft, left the University of Michigan before his junior year after testing positive for marijuana, avoiding a one-year ban by the NCAA.

As a rookie, McGary played in 32 games in an injury-riddled season for the Thunder and averaged 6.3 points and 5.2 rebounds in 15.2 minutes.

Last year, McGary was in and out of the D-League, and played in just 20 games for Oklahoma City, averaging 1.3 points and 0.9 rebounds in 3.6 minutes.

He played well in summer league this week (15.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 24.0 minutes) and, despite his suspension, is likely to see an uptick in minutes with the departure of Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka.

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