The Minnesota Timberwolves vs. New Orleans Pelicans game on the last day of the regular season was set to determine the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference standings. Both teams were going to the NBA play-in tournament regardless, but the No. 8 seed gets two chances to make the NBA playoffs, while the No. 9 seed needs to win consecutive elimination games to make the playoff bracket.
The Wolves beat the Pelicans, 113-108, to set up a play-in tournament matchup with the No. 7 seed Los Angeles Lakers. But there were several unfortunate incidents for Minnesota during the game.
Midway through the second quarter, Timberwolves star Rudy Gobert was sent home by the team after throwing a punch at teammate Kyle Anderson. Gobert and Anderson got into an argument during a huddle, and Gobert extended his arm and hit Anderson. Gobert did not re-enter the game after the incident, and was later sent home by the team. Here’s video of what happened between Gobert and Anderson:
Kyle Anderson and Rudy Gobert got into a scuffle during a timeout pic.twitter.com/y8X76TbUuJ
— Backcourt Alerts (@BackcourtAlerts) April 9, 2023
Here’s what was said in the huddle:
ESPN Sources: Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert escalated a verbal argument to a physical encounter after Kyle Anderson told him to “Shut the f--- up, bitch.” The disagreement started with Anderson telling Gobert to block some shots, Gobert telling him to grab a rebound – and ended with a…
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 9, 2023
Sources: After bench incident, Timberwolves' Rudy Gobert and Kyle Anderson had a heated verbal exchange in halftime locker room as well, with Anderson challenging the center at one point saying, "I'll knock your a-- out."
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 10, 2023
Updated story at @TheAthletic: https://t.co/kYHEod0MJd
Reporters confirmed that Gobert was sent home after the incident:
Timberwolves have sent Rudy Gobert home after Gobert threw punch at teammate Kyle Anderson during a timeout huddle, per sources. He is out for remainder of game.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 9, 2023
Gobert and Anderson were reportedly screaming at each other in the halftime locker room after the altercation:
Jen Hale reporting on Bally Sports New Orleans that she heard Rudy Gobert and Kyle Anderson screaming at each other in the locker room during halftime.
— Oleh Kosel (@OlehKosel) April 9, 2023
Here’s what Timberwolves president Tim Connelly said about Gobert after the game:
Minnesota President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly on Rudy Gobert: “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 continue handling the situation internally.”
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 9, 2023
Here’s Gobert’s statement:
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
Later in the game, Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels punched a wall and was ruled out the rest of the game:
there is no way today is not a simulation.
— Shahbaz Khan (@ShahbazMKhan) April 9, 2023
Jaden McDaniels swings at the wall out of frustration and is now out for the rest of the game. pic.twitter.com/orTlIiH6oK
McDaniels fractured his hand:
Timberwolves rising star Jaden McDaniels has suffered a broken right hand, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 9, 2023
In his 13 minutes of play, Gobert was -14 on the floor and only scored two points.
Timberwolves insiders had noticed some tension between Anderson and teammates like Gobert. Here’s a quote from Gobert on Anderson’s leadership style one day before the incident.
I've been working on a piece about Kyle Anderson's leadership and his blunt, honest way of talking to teammates. I asked Rudy Gobert about him yesterday. He's what Rudy said. pic.twitter.com/l0kDs94lR5
— Chris Hine (@ChristopherHine) April 9, 2023
We’ll update this story as it develops.
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