When the Minnesota Timberwolves take on the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday in the NBA play-in playoff game, they will be missing their main center. Rudy Gobert has been dismissed by the team for the crucial play-in game after the Frenchman was spotted on camera punching teammate Kyle Anderson on Sunday.
Gobert will reunite with his teammates for the rest of the Wolves’ play-in championship run and beyond after swinging at Kyle Anderson in Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Gobert apologized on Twitter following the game. “Emotions got the best of me today,” Gobert wrote. “I should not have reacted the way I did regardless of what was said. I wanna apologize to the fans, the organization, and particularly to Kyle, who is someone that I truly love and respect as a teammate.”
Teammates restrained Anderson following this on-court altercation.
“I think tempers just flared,” Anderson said afterward. “That’s all.” Aside from that, he added that he wasn’t expecting any issues in their future interactions. “We want to win games. It is what it is. It ain’t the first time someone has swung on me,” he said.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the club did take into account additional factors. Allegedly, the Wolves disagree that Gobert meant to damage his teammate with his strike, but they had no alternative because he hit Anderson in the chest.
Despite the fact that the 7-foot-2 center was playing with a back injury on Sunday, the allegations indicate that Anderson frequently referred to Gobert as a “bitch.”
The Wolves had other punching issues on Sunday beyond the one involving Gobert and Anderson. Jaden McDaniels hit a wall on his way to the locker room and immediately felt guilty about it. Later, it was revealed that he had broken his hand, which was unfortunate given how close the playoffs were.
