Draymond Green, Who Once Punched His Own Teammate, Lauds Rudy Gobert for Doing the Same: ‘He Stood Up for Himself’
Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert may have ruined his team’s playoff hopes after throwing a punch at teammate Kyle Anderson and getting himself suspended, but he’s gained the respect of one of his biggest rivals.
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green took to his podcast on Monday to say Gobert “gained a little respect” from him after the incident. It’s now been widely reported that Anderson called Gobert a “bitch” multiple times during the second-quarter timeout, leading to the punch.
The Timberwolves had to suspend Gobert for throwing a punch, but accepted that it was a shot to chest with no intent to injure Kyle Anderson and understood that Anderson called Gobert a “bitch” repeatedly on a night Gobert was playing hurt, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 10, 2023
“Quite frankly, there are just some words that, as men, you just don’t say to men,” Green said on The Draymond Green Show. “And if you do choose to say those words, you also have to be ready to deal with whatever comes with that because that is a decision that you are making when you decide to disrespect someone.
“So when I saw the choice word that is the “bitch” word Kyle Anderson’s using towards Rudy Gobert, you do have to be ready with what comes with that.”
Green added that he views Gobert to be “a little on the softer side” and many in the league would probably agree with Kyle Anderson’s insult.
“He gained a little respect from me because he stood up for himself,” Green said. “I’ve never really seen the guy stand up for himself. I didn’t really know if the guy was capable of standing up for himself. He stood up for himself a bit. Unfortunately, it doesn’t really work. Take it from me. I know how that goes.”
Before the 2022 season began, the basketball community exploded when TMZ published a leaked video of Green knocking out Jordan Poole, his own teammate with whom he’d just won an NBA championship, during practice. Green took some time away from the team, but took offense to footage of the practice session being leaked to the public.
