Rudy Gobert’s actions on Sunday comes with consequence, as he will be suspended one game by the Minnesota Timberwolves after punching teammate Kyle Anderson on the bench during a timeout.
ESPN reports that Gobert did not travel with the team to Los Angeles, where the Timberwolves are set to face the Lakers as the No. 8 seed in the NBA play-in tournament on Tuesday.
While playing the New Orleans Pelicans in the final regular season game on Sunday, Gobert and Anderson were seen getting into a heated verbal exchange that quickly turned physical when Gobert lunged at Anderson and punched him in the chest.
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Anderson tried going back at Gobert, but players and coaches broke things up. Forward Taurean Prince sprung out of his seat and immediately shoved Gobert away.
Spats happen from time to time on NBA benches, but ESPN said Gobert lost it when Anderson reportedly said, "Shut the f--- up, b----." They were arguing about play on the floor.
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Gobert was later sent home after the argument spilled into the locker room at halftime. Anderson apparently told Gobert, "I’ll knock you a-- out" during the argument.
Gobert would later apologize publicly on Twitter.
"Emotions got the best of me today," he wrote. "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."
"We’re not proud of that behavior by anybody," head coach Chris Finch added, via The Athletic. "We really haven’t dug too far into the root cause of it. But guys were just frustrated. We weren’t playing well and weren’t sharing the ball. We were getting beat in all the little areas."
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Gobert’s absence from the play-in game against the Lakers will be a big one, as he is the team’s starting center. His ability to grab rebounds and play solid defense at the rim will surely be missed.
The Timberwolves will also be without Jaden McDaniels, who fractured his right hand punching a wall down the tunnel after frustrations during the game got the best of him.
While Gobert will be able to return to the Wolves if they lose Tuesday night, the loser of that game has the opportunity to play for the eighth and final seed of the conference against the winner of the No. 9 and No. 10 matchup. McDaniels won’t be available.
