WATCH: Rudy Gobert was sent home mid-game by Minnesota for punching teammate Kyle Anderson during a timeout
After a 113-108 win vs the New Orleans Pelicans last night, the Minnesota Timberwolves locked themselves into the play-in tournament as the eighth seed. They will be playing the LA Lakers for the right to have the seventh seed in the West. Tensions were high during the Timberwolves’ games last night and things got heated between Rudy Gobert and Kyle Anderson. Gobert threw a punch at his teammate and was sent home almost immediately vs Minnesota.
This is not the drama that they need heading into the playoffs. A timeout in the second quarter led to a heated exchange between Gobert and Anderson. Minnesota’s center then threw a punch at his teammate and had to be separated.
Gobert has since then apologized to Anderson and the rest of his teammates for what he did. Hopefully, this does not affect the cohesiveness of their team heading into the postseason. Minnesota Sports Betting sites have the Timberwolves at (+15000) to win the Finals this season.
Oh my Rudy Gobert just threw a punch at his own teammate Kyle Anderson pic.twitter.com/6GP5wwkCqW
— Kevin O’Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) April 9, 2023
Not a great look for Rudy Gobert who threw a punch at his teammate Kyle Anderson last night
Words were exchanged between Rudy Gobert and Kyle Anderson last night during a second-quarter timeout. The two were jawing at each other about the other’s lack of intensity while playing. It’s possible that the Timberwolves were feeling some pressure last night as they still had not locked up a play-in spot.
Gobert got physical with his teammate and threw a punch at Anderson’s chest. He was sent home by Minnesota who shortly ruled him out for the rest of the game. Taurean Prince was quick to react and pushed away Gobert so that the situation would not escalate any further than that. After the game was over, Gobert tweeted this from his personal account to apologize.
Emotions got the best of me today. I should not have reacted the way i did regardless of what was said. I wanna apologize to the fans, the organisation and particularly to Kyle, who is someone that i truly love and respect as a teammate.
— Rudy Gobert (@rudygobert27) April 10, 2023
Minnesota’s front office called Gobert’s behavior “unacceptable” and the situation will be resolved internally by the Timberwolves. If this was not the last game of the regular season, Gobert almost certainly might have been suspended at least one game by Minnesota. However, they cannot afford to not have him on the court this late in the season.
The Timberwolves will be on the road tomorrow night in the #7 vs #8 play-in game for the right to the seventh seed. Whoever wins that game will be playing the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
Source: Basketball Insider
