Rudy Gobert Sent Home After Throwing Punch at Teammate Kyle Anderson Mid-Game
The Minnesota Timberwolves told Rudy Gobert to leave the arena after he threw a punch at teammate Kyle Anderson.
During the second quarter of Sunday’s game against the Pelicans, Gobert and Anderson could be seen yelling at each other while in a team huddle. Gobert proceeded to lean over and take a swing at Anderson’s arm, which led to the two having to be separated.
Here’s a look at the scene:
The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported shortly after that the organization sent Gobert home. President of basketball operations Tim Connelly went on to confirm this in a team statement, telling media “We made the decision to send Rudy Gobert home after the incident in the second quarter. His behavior on the bench was unacceptable and we will handle the situation internally.”
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Gobert did send an apologetic text in the team’s group chat.
Exactly what will come of this situation is unknown. However, this undoubtedly seems like the kind of circumstance where an organization would issue some sort of internal punishment. The problem for Minnesota is that a Play-In Tournament game against the Los Angeles Lakers awaits later this week. The two will face off in Los Angeles this Tuesday.
In related news, Minnesota forward Jaden McDaniels is surely out for the upcoming Play-In game. The young forward punched a wall on his way to the locker room earlier tonight and broke his hand, per Wojnarowski.
Considering it’s the very last game of the season, it’s hard to think things could have gone much worse for the Timberwolves. Yeesh.
