After a heated In-Season Tournament match between the Warriors and Timberwolves, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Jaden McDaniels were all ejected after a brawl exploded during the first minutes of the contest.
It all started when Klay and Jaden had their own altercation and Rudy Gobert tried to intervene before Draymond grabbed him from behind and put him on a chokehold. Once the four-time champion let go of the French big man, he was given a flagrant two and a potential suspension.
After what became the Golden State forward’s 18th-career ejection, a long list of NBA players took their thoughts to social media. “This dude Draymond really just put Rudy in a damn choke hold. God Bless America,” said ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins.
Others like former Cavs guard Channing Frye was impressed on how easy it all escalated. “Wow y’all are quick,” he wrote.
Rudy Gobert calls out Draymond Green
“Every time Steph doesn’t play, he doesn’t want to play without his guy Steph so he does anything he can to get ejected.”😳
(Via @JonKrawczynski ) pic.twitter.com/NGl56eAo7X
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) November 15, 2023
After the game, the Minnesota center went all out on Green, calling out his extreme behavior. “Clown behavior, and I’m proud of myself for being the bigger man again and again,” Gobert said. “And yeah, [Green] doesn’t even deserve me putting my hands on him. My team needed me tonight. I did whatever I could to keep my cool and then show that I wasn’t making the situation worse, and I do hope that the league is going to do what needs to be done because that’s just clown behavior.”
As for Steve Kerr, he defended both his players. “There’s no way Klay Thompson should’ve been thrown out of the game,” the Warriors coach said postgame. “I mean, he’s running up the floor, and the guy grabs his jersey, and he’s pulling on him, so Klay pulls back. No way Klay should’ve been ejected. That was ridiculous. So, I was upset about that.”
When addressing the other situation, Kerr actually believes Gobert provoked Green. “If you watch the replay, Rudy had his hands on Klay’s neck. That’s why Draymond went after Rudy,” Kerr said. “I saw one replay right after it happened. The guys on the back of the bench were telling us that Rudy had Klay. That’s why Draymond went after Rudy. That’s all I know, but it was a bizarre way to start the game.”
Green and Gobert have a history together as both have been taking shots at each other for years now
The fight between Draymond and Rudy feels like long-time coming as they’ve been exchanging insults through social media for many years now. The last time something was said, was when Green got in a fight with former teammate Jordan Poole last year, and the French big man posted “Insecurity is always loud” on his social media.
Six months later the NBA champion used the same expression towards the Wolves star after he had an altercation with Kyle Anderson.
The Warriors forward then went on his own podcast and gave details about what he thinks of Gobert. “Kyle Anderson uttered some words to Rudy Gobert that a lot of people thinks. He said it, he said what a lot of people thinks. I personally think Rudy Gobert is on the softer side, myself.
“He gained a little respect from me. Because he stood up for himself. I’ve never really seen the guy stand up for himself. Didn’t really know if the guy was capable of standing up for himself,” he said.
